Talk to Me goes beyond the typical biopic with explosive performances from Don Cheadle and Chiwetal Ejiofor." /> Talk to Me - Rotten Tomatoes
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Talk to Me (2007)

tomatometer

82

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 126
Fresh: 103 | Rotten: 23

A riveting look at the life of legendary DJ "Petey" Greene, Talk to Me goes beyond the typical biopic with explosive performances from Don Cheadle and Chiwetal Ejiofor.

76

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 33
Fresh: 25 | Rotten: 8

A riveting look at the life of legendary DJ "Petey" Greene, Talk to Me goes beyond the typical biopic with explosive performances from Don Cheadle and Chiwetal Ejiofor.

audience

76

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 40,424

My Rating

Movie Info

Don Cheadle stars as outspoken ex-convict and iconic radio personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene in a powerful biopic detailing the life and career of a media figure whose voice instilled the black community with hope during the turbulent 1960s. After talking his way onto the Washington, D.C. airwaves in the era of free love, a man emboldened by the inspirational soul music and rapidly expanding social consciousness that defined the decade openly courts controversy as his put-upon producer,

R, 1 hr. 58 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy

Michael Genet, Rick Famuyiwa

Oct 30, 2007

$4.4M

Focus Features

Cast

All Critics (126) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (108) | Rotten (24) | DVD (18)

In its wrenching shift from farce to tragedy, and its evocation of the bridge offered by friendship, Talk to Me tells it, and keeps on tellin' it, much as 'Petey' Greene would have.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comment
NPR.org
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Speaks powerfully to audiences with its potent blend of extraordinary performances and engaging soundtrack.

September 1, 2007 Full Review Source: USA Today | Comment
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The movie's occasional narrative shortcomings are offset by the performances, which are uniformly fine.

August 3, 2007 Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | Comment
San Jose Mercury News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Its dialogue, equal parts uptight honky and jumping jive seems, particularly in the early stretches, to have been generated by a computer.

July 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | Comment
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The characters are brought to vivid life with remarkably compelling performances by two of the screen's most versatile actors: Don Cheadle as the freewheeling Greene; and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Hughes, the aggressively ambitious executive.

July 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Cheadle gives a performance of contained cool and bluff bravado, suggesting barely a hint of the rage you would expect from a man just out of a nine-year prison sentence.

July 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Kasi Lemmons' radio drama of flamboyance, fury and finesse cranks the funk on a sister station to "Talk Radio" and "Good Morning Vietnam," powered by two performances of impeccable clarity and cut from Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

October 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com

Ejiofor and Cheadle are a force to be reckoned with in possibly one of the better films of 2007.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

Although the director succumbs to the genreā(TM)s temptation to wrap up a messy life with a neat, platitudinous resolution, she lets her cast give Greene and his era its due.

April 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

Talk to Me is an incisive portrait of a provocative figure. It comes very close to caricature, but remains human and lively.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Fayetteville Free Weekly | Comment
Fayetteville Free Weekly

Just as she did in Hustle and Flow, Taraji P. Henson steals many a scene and is wonderful as Greene's flamboyant girlfriend.

July 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | Comment
Paste Magazine

Cheadle shines in radio icon biopic. Not for kids.

July 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

It's a visually and aurally riveting trip to an important time from a perspective few here will know, about a person worth meeting.

February 22, 2008 Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | Comment
Sydney Morning Herald

Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor make a terrific duo, first as enemies, then as colleagues and finally as partners %u2013 until the partnership self destructs.

February 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

Even Martin Sheen is keepin' it real.

December 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Snobs | Comment
Film Snobs

A good movie about a powerful friendship, and it brings a bygone era back to life.

December 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | Comment
Laramie Movie Scope

Hysterically potent, thought-provoking and deliciously nostalgic. Overall, the proposed chatter is warranted in the movingly impish Talk to Me.

December 6, 2007 Full Review | Comment
TheWorldJournal.com

Ejiofor and Cheadle are a force to be reckoned with...

December 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comment
Cinema Crazed

This straightforward schematic biopic never talks to me.

November 28, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A stronger screenplay and more sensitive direction would have made this movie into something far more genuinely uplifting than it is.

November 23, 2007 Full Review Source: This is London | Comment
This is London

The movie is decent enough, but contains Greene's story in a sentimentalised career arc.

November 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comment
Guardian [UK]

This biopic of Greene, a DJ most Brits will not know, has a limited appeal.

November 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Sun Online | Comment
Sun Online

Poignant and often very funny, Cheadle deserves a clutch of prizes come awards season.

November 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | Comment
Daily Mirror [UK]

If the picture doesn't ultimately live up to the raw vitality of Cheadle's performance, it remains an uplifting snapshot that broadcasts its message with zero distortion. Tune in and you won't be turned off.

November 23, 2007 Full Review Source: Total Film | Comment
Total Film
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Talk to Me

Another feather in Mr. Cheadle's cap. Super-fun movie with a solid dose of history. Always nice to see a well-done true-story.

January 19, 2012
jarobb3

Super Reviewer

Along with Don Cheadle, there are many good performances in Talk to Me, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson (who could be hilarious), Cedric the Entertainer and Vondie Curtis Hall. Martin Sheen could have phoned in his part as the one-dimensional "irate then calm" boss.Greene's story is an affecting

January 8, 2009
DrBenway
El Hombre Invisible

Super Reviewer

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