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Talk to Me

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Talk to Me (2007)

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Reviews Counted:119

Fresh:96

Rotten:23

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: 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.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive language and some sexual content

Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jul 13, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $4,436,352

Synopsis: Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle portrays the one and only Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr.; Petey's story is funny, dramatic, inspiring – and real. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C.,... Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle portrays the one and only Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr.; Petey's story is funny, dramatic, inspiring – and real. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C., vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. It was the place and time for Petey to fully express himself – sometimes to outrageous effect – and "tell it like it is." With the support of his irrepressible and tempestuous girlfriend Vernell (Taraji P. Henson), the newly minted ex-con talks his way into an on-air radio gig. He forges a friendship and a partnership with fellow prison inmate Milo's (Mike Epps) brother Dewey Hughes (double Golden Globe Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor). From the first wild morning on the air, Petey relies on the more straight-laced Dewey to run interference at WOL-AM, where Dewey is the program director. At the station, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing even the established popularity of his fellow disc jockeys, Nighthawk (Cedric The Entertainer) and Sunny Jim (Vondie Curtis Hall). Combining biting humor with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for station owner E.G. Sonderling (Emmy Award winner Martin Sheen). Petey was determined to make not just himself but his community heard during an exciting and turbulent period in American history. As Petey's voice, humor, and spirit surge across the airwaves with the vitality of the era, listeners tune in to hear not only incredible music but also a man speaking directly to them about race and power in America like few people ever have. Through the years, Petey's "The truth just is" style --- on – and off-air – would redefine both Petey and Dewey, and empower each to become the man he would most like to be. -- © Focus Feature [More]

Starring: Don Cheadle, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson

Starring: Don Cheadle, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Martin Sheen, Vondie Curtis Hall

Director: Kasi Lemmons

Director: Kasi Lemmons
Screenwriter: Michael Genet, Rick Famuyiwa
Story: Michael Genet
Producer: Mark Gordon, Sidney Kimmel, Joe Fries, Josh McLaughlin
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Studio: Focus Features

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Release:

Aug 16, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

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Reviews for Talk to Me

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41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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It starts out breathlessly funny, fast-paced, and energetic before ultimately settling in to a standard biopic formula that's not nearly as compelling.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
07/30/07
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

(N)o matter the factual flaws here, Talk to Me generates so much period appropriate juice and evocative energy that you can't help but feel caught up in the events transpiring before your eyes.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/28/07
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/28/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Talk to Me is fascinating both as social history and as biography.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
07/28/07
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

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

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
07/27/07
Joanne Kaufman
Joanne Kaufman
Wall Street Journal

Cheadle and Ejiofor are riveting together; they have the kind of apparently effortless chemistry that makes every scene they share a delight.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/27/07
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
07/27/07
Rob Salem
Rob Salem
Toronto Star

As Lemmons effortlessly makes her film both a colorful tour of the turbulent '60s and a delicately paced character study, the men emerge as two halves of a whole; often in disagreement, always brothers.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/27/07
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Cheadle makes all these things believable within the same person while showing how being pulled in several directions wears on Petey.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
07/27/07
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

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.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
07/27/07
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

A vibrant feel for its era and a genuine affection for its characters make the whole thing a solid evocation of a time and a life worth remembering.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/27/07
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

Too bad the storytelling, which is somewhat disjointed, isn't as good as the rest of the deal -- but Don Cheadle is so good at what he does you probably won't even notice.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
07/27/07
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

The problem is, the last section of the movie doesn't follow the career path of Greene: It traces the blander character of Hughes.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
07/27/07
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[A] well-acted film about making the move from the street to the mainstream.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
07/27/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

he mood shifts awkwardly from broad comedy to melodrama and social commentary.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
07/27/07
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cheadle convincingly layers his outrageousness with off-the-air pain and pathos.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
07/27/07
Matt Stevens
Matt Stevens
E! Online

Lemmons, her extraordinary cast and gifted crew deliver laughing, crying and plenty of signifying.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
07/27/07
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

Through the persons of Petey and Dewey, 'Talk to Me' examines two competing approaches by which a black man might achieve success in a white man's world.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
07/27/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor are two of the best actors of my generation working today, period.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
07/27/07
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

The biggest problem with Kasi Lemmons' biopic "Talk to Me" is whether it wants to be a comedy or a drama.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
07/27/07
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca
 
 
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