Visionary voice

>> Don Cheadle shines as confrontational
radio host Petey Greene in Talk to Me

by MARK SLUTSKY

Wiseass, hustler, ex-con, shit-disturber and straight-talker: legendary Washington, D.C. radio host Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene Jr., who died in 1984, was born to be a movie character. Lucky for us, then, that the very excellent Don Cheadle is around to play him. Talk to Me (such a forgettable and prosaic title for such a verbose movie) is a new film from director Kasi Lemmons (The Caveman’s Valentine) about Petey Greene, starring Cheadle and a very talented supporting cast. Though the film is a fairly conventional biographical drama, the performances make it something special.

The film starts in the early ’60s. After a stint in prison, where he’d been a popular DJ, Greene tries to get a job at WOL, a local R&B radio station. His aggressive and flamboyant ways don’t endear him to the station’s manager Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) or its owner (Martin Sheen) when he comes knocking with girlfriend Vernell (Taraji P. Henson). Still, the station is looking to regain its audience after an unsuccessful attempt at courting the affluent, whiter part of the D.C. population, and Hughes ultimately relents.

Soon Petey Greene is a celebrity, and his status is further solidified after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the subsequent riots, when he goes on air and passionately attempts to calm the city. He goes on to be a celebrated local stand-up comic and TV host.

As Talk to Me is based on a true story, it doesn’t have the shape of a traditional narrative, but for the most part that’s okay. Cheadle, in afro, moustache and cravat, is so charming, hilarious and yet believable, and his relationship with Ejiofor, who is also superb, is so complex, fractious and touching that the movie’s weak storyline can be forgiven.

This is a movie about characters, and their relationships, and it handles that human drama stuff well. Henson (Hustle & Flow) is delightful, and she brings a lot to what could be a standard girlfriend role, Sheen brings a solid, sympathetic presence and Cedric the Entertainer has a great small role as a deep-voiced soul DJ. Though the film occasionally feels a bit like a TV movie, the cast always helps it transcend that.

Talk to Me opens this
Friday, July 27

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