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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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Don Cheadle has elevated yet another film: Talk to Me is better than it intends to be. But thank Ejiofor as well.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/26/07
Richard Nilsen
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is one good movie in Talk to Me and about four bad ones.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
07/26/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

There's plenty to like ...

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
07/26/07
Gianni Truzzi
Gianni Truzzi
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

... has a solid sense of time and place and character.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
07/26/07
Minneapolis Star Tribune

In Talk to Me, director Kasi Lemmons has expertly crafted an uplifting civil rights–era biopic free of false hope and cloying nostalgia.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
07/26/07
Ian Grey
Ian Grey
Orlando Weekly

Petey hated whitey.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment 1 Comment
07/23/07
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Talk to Me is more than enough fun as a showcase for Mr. Cheadle's wit and spontaneity and as an inside look at the airwaves' transition from warm and fuzzy comforter to the anything-goes entertainment of today.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
07/21/07
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie also presents '60s turbulence from a black point of view, which is not only bracing but also feels closer to the point of it all.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/20/07
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No matter the tonal peaks and valleys, Talk to Me brings Greene's attitude to the big screen with confidence, led by Cheadle's amazing performance.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/19/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

What I'm hoping flies under the radar is the unexpected and disappointing transformation of Kasi Lemmons, whose previous pitch-black, haunted sensibility barely makes an appearance in her highest-profile film.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
07/19/07
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

When Don Cheadle stands front and centre, he does special things onscreen, and he makes Talk to Me most worthwhile, despite Kasi Lemmons' unsteady directorial hand.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/17/07
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

Brilliant, alcoholic and self-destructive, Greene is the fascinating subject of Kasi Lemmons's funky, R&B-driven biopic -- a vital entertainment that struts confidently between comedy and drama.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
07/17/07
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A very honest yet curiously affecting experience.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
07/17/07
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In spite of Cheadle's forceful performance, the watered down script fails to capture the rawness and polemic logic of a groundbreaking social commentator who spoke truth power on a daily basis.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
07/17/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

As good as Cheadle and Elijofor are, the person I enjoyed most was Taraji P. Henson whose flamboyant performance dominates every scene in which she appears.

Full Review Source: tonymedley.com | comment Comment
07/15/07
Tony Medley
Tony Medley
tonymedley.com

Veering from comedy to moving tragedy to a bittersweet ending, TALK TO ME captures the spirit of a man and the times in which he lived. It may not be a masterpiece, but it's pretty damned close.

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

[Cheadle] brings warmth, humor, and vulnerability to a role that could easily have been a Good Morning, Vietnam-level blunder.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
07/14/07
Pete Vonder Haar
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
07/14/07
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Hollywood.com

Greene may have known his ceiling; thankfully, Cheadle recognizes no such boundaries. The man just keeps exploring the outer limits of his talent.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment 1 Comment
07/14/07
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

About halfway through the movie, it changes direction, becoming less a biographical drama about Petey than a maudlin buddy movie about his relationship with Dewey.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
07/14/07
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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