'Talk to Me' is uplifting ode to radio

By Mary Carey
Staff Writer

Published on August 24, 2007

Talk to Me
Directed by Kasi Lemmons, starring Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Vondie Curtis Hall and Martin Sheen.
One hour and 58 minutes, rated R.
At the Amherst Cinema Arts Center.
****

Fun and uplifting, "Talk to Me," about the pioneer talk radio host and shock jock Petey Greene, is a history lesson and an ode to radio.

Who other than radio historians knew that Greene was one of the first radio hosts to invite listeners to chime in and one of the first to use street vernacular in such a way as to invite constant Federal Communications Commission scrutiny?

A two-time Emmy-winning celebrity in the late 1960s in Washington, D.C., Greene's crowning accomplishment, as dramatized in "Talk to Me," was to help quell the riots that threatened to spiral out of control in Washington, following the death of Martin Luther King Jr.

When Greene died of cancer almost 20 years later, an estimated 20,000 people lined up outside Washington's Union Wesley AME Zion Church to pay their last respects.

Talk about humble beginnings, Greene, played to perfection by Don Cheadle, began his brilliant career in prison, where he was doing 10 years for robbery, broadcasting from what looks to be the warden's office.

Greene's got a captive audience to be sure, but the prisoners hang on everything he says, laughing at his jokes and nodding their heads whenever he says something philosophical. It's the kind of loyal following most radio hosts probably only dream of. With talent like this, you know this guy is going somewhere.

It's Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a fellow product of the projects in Washington D.C., who doesn't know Greene has talent. He meets Hughes walking into prison to visit his brother who is also doing time there. An up-and-coming radio executive, Hughes sees the prisoners hanging onto Greene's every word, but he doesn't seem to get it.

Although rollicking good fun with a great sound track, these early scenes beg a little credulity. How could this guy be a radio executive and be so tone deaf, you wonder. And isn't the contrast between the two men a little too obviously drawn? Greene is free- wheeling. Hughes is stiff. Greene loves street talk. Hughes talks like a professor. Greene has got a girlfriend who adores him. Hughes does not.

No sooner does Greene get out of prison then he shows up at Dewey's radio station looking for a job. Here he runs smack into the uptight establishment, personified by Martin Sheen, who plays Dewey's boss. His name is E.G. Sonderling, but Greene's loyal girlfriend, Vernell (Vondie Curtis Hall), promptly christens the boss Blue Blazes, after he uses the old-fashioned phrase to express his astonishment at Greene's gall. Vernell and Greene both get shown the door.

Enter the Civil Rights movement and Greene is on the street attracting a crowd as a street-level political organizer who gets people stirred up by things, when Hughes finally gets it that this guy is the future of radio.

Again, the movie is a bit heavy-handed in demonstrating to us that Hughes really isn't as stuffy as he seems. He shows Greene that he is hip in his own way by beating him at pool. Then Hughes really goes out on a limb and offers Greene a job, putting his own job on the line.

This is where the movie gets interesting and unpredictable. Greene is a drinker, which limits his success, but he also knows that what he has got going for him is his ability to connect to common people. If he gets too successful, he'll lose that and he knows it. It's Dewey that doesn't realize there's a conundrum here.

The more prim-looking Dewey, as it turns out, is the one who isn't afraid to put everything on the line and go for broke, while the ex-con Greene is more cautious. How their careers intertwine and play out against each other is fascinating viewing. Much like a charismatic radio host, "Talk to Me" draws us in, finally, and makes us think about some pretty weighty issues, like what it means to remain true to ourselves and true to others. Then, before things get too serious, it's time for some music.

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.