Talk to Me (2007)

I picked up the DVD yesterday in the bargain bin of Big Lots for $1.50. It was the cheapest movie in the bin, but I knew I would never get a chance to see it otherwise. I lived in DC after Green died, and knew little about him. This movie is also an important history for those of us who love/hate the city.As you can see from previous reviews, many of us are convinced this is an excellent movie. I expected great acting from Don Cheadle, but I was most impressed with how tight the whole movie was - great writing by Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa, terrific directing by the very talented Kasi Lemmons, excellent ensemble acting especially between Cheadle, Eliofor and Tanaji P. Henson (who steals a few scenes herself). And the music, if you love old school, this is it!Of course, the movie is about race and class, but I think we need to go beyond the film's subject and ask, Why is this excellent movie by African Americans so marginalized in our cinema industry?

I've got to say I never heard of Petey Greene so I really do not know how faithful to the actual events of his life this movie is, but I know what I like and the movie had me from start to finish."Talk To Me" is a well-crafted story about a true life con-man, Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene who found his true calling as an Washington, D.C. disc-jockey and radio talk show host. His mantra was to admit he was a con, but that he always told the truth. That he did and in a way that reached out to his audience making him a fixture in the mid-sixties all the way into the eighties. The director did an excellent distillation process making the story appealing to anyone-making it easy to see the attraction this man possessed. Casting is nigh perfect! Don Cheadle is totally natural in his portrayal and even the ever so stiff Martin Sheen gets a role he's 100% believable in. On a topical entertaining level I just don't see how this could get much better. Sure it could have delved deeper into the politics, but that really wasn't the goal here as it's basically a lighter look meant to be enjoyable.See this movie, you'll be entertained, moved, and enlightened. You'll learn a bit about a time and culture while enjoying the ride. Highly recommended.

I remember many of my experiences in the late 60's and 70's as sort of an over-the-top caricature of real life, and, basically, I find that a pretty valid description of Talk to Me. Just as my memories of those times are glossed over by fond and crazy memories so is this film, but that didn't keep me from really enjoying it.The film was advertised as a biopic of Washington, D.C., radio and television talk-show personality, Petey Greene. He grew up on the mean streets of D.C. and was eventually sent to prison. Greene was a master hustler and larger than life personality - the perfect persona for a talk-show host. During his time in prison, he gained experience as an incarcerated DJ and used that experience to break into radio talk after his release. He became a noted figure of social consciousness in D.C. during those turbulent times of civil unrest in the quest for civil rights for the everyday African American man and woman. He accomplished a great deal in his fifty-three years but was always haunted by demons of his past and his additions to drugs and alcohol.Don Cheadle is a joy to watch as Petey. He is an excellent actor and gives us a delightful taste of a man strutting through his world as a larger-than-life character all the while trying to suppress his deep feelings of insecurity.In reality, the film is actually more of a biography of Dewey Hughes who started working in lowly jobs in a D.C. radio station and went on to become a mover and shaker in both radio and television.Hughes is played by British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and he does an amazing job at capturing the accent of the two sides of his character. In the film, Hughes is depicted as a Black man raised in poverty who has accomplished a great deal - extremely proper speech being one. During most of the film, Ejiofor speaks in that tongue, but there are times when his character expresses himself in a very believable way using the language of the streets - all of this from an actor with a British accent.Cheadle and Ejiofor give us an engrossing look at two talented men who spend most of their time at odds with one another all the while covering respect, envy, and love. Even though their relationship in the film is highly romanticized, it is still good, solid entertainment.Not to demean the excellent acting all around, it is the production that makes this film a great indulgence - especially for me. Most of it takes place during the 70's which was both a tragic and totally wacky decade of American history. This film is filled with great costumes and scenes that will bring bitter-sweet memories to anyone of my generation. It's a great treat.

I wanted to stop watching during the first 30 minutes due to boredom, but kept at it given the good reviews. I have mixed feelings about having continued.The strength of the movie consists of the clever dialog of "Petey Greene" and the fact that it is a historic biopic. Don Cheadle (Petey Greene) and Chiwetel Ejiofor do great jobs of acting, but the characters weren't really interesting. In fact, Petey Greene was mostly annoying and unpleasant to watch.I think the only thing I will take away from the movie are a few key bits of good dialog. The comments he made on the radio and at a rally after Martin Luther King was shot were interesting to hear. If you want to calm a city of full of anger and violence, his brief speeches (whether they were real speeches he gave or not) were pretty great. If you can just watch that segment (less than 15 minutes total), you might be better off than watching the whole thing.