RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Talk to Me
Talk to Me

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Talk to Me (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
81 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Trailer #2
    >
    Taraji Henson
    >
    Cedric the Entertainer
    >
  • Don Cheadle
    >
    Martin Sheen
    >
1 - 4 of 6

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Aug 16, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region [unknown]
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Talk to Me

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It's an unfortunately neatly packaged tale about a man who, by all evidence, constantly and consciously resisted easy repackaging.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
07/14/07
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

As might be expected in a film that stars two such heavyweights, Talk to Me is a master class in acting. Ejiofor and Cheadle are both terrific, investing their characters with more than just personality, but also with heart and soul.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
07/14/07
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

Watching it becomes an exercise in frustration when a potentially great movie winds up buried inside a just OK one.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/14/07
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor take charge of screen so decisively that any shortcomings in the script are strictly secondary to their dynamic performances

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
07/14/07
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

What's powerful about Talk to Me is the way it acknowledges how difficult it was for Dewey and Petey to face not only their own dichotomy but their real love for each other.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
07/13/07
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

The movie begins with a whirlpool of comedy and manic energy, and then grows, as it must, more serious and introspective.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/13/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

At its best, the cast of Talk to Me coalesces into the Brotherhood of Keeping it Real.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
07/13/07
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Smart, conflicted, and immensely entertaining.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/13/07
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

...a movie that perfectly captures the vibe of a person, a place, a time and a way of being, and even gets, indirectly and without a whiff of sanctimoniousness, to the heart of what being an American ought to mean.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
07/13/07
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Could stand to focus more on scrupulous sociocultural history and less on compulsively entertaining the audience...has enough untold story and acting chops to make it worthwhile.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
07/13/07
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Don Cheadle practically bounces off the screen with a high energy, hilarious, and heartrending performance where every unexpected word keeps his audience--and that includes us--spellbound.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
07/13/07
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

Talk to Me offers uplift without phoniness, history without undue didacticism and a fair number of funny, dirty jokes.

comment Comment
07/13/07
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ejiofor recalls Ray Sharkey in The Idolmaker, but thankfully stops just short of Alan Bates in The Rose and Eric Roberts in Star 80.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
07/12/07
Telly Davidson
Telly Davidson
FilmStew.com

Captures the euphoric and daring, rebel music drenched energy that fueled radio culture back then, while also tuning in to the organic intensity of the times.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
07/12/07
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

Ooh, boy, this movie's got the funk AND the soul.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
07/12/07
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

Though there's tension between the two halves of Talk to Me, both of them are quite good.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/12/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

It's too bad the story of these two men (and two fine performances has to compete with the built-in biopic conventions.

Full Review Source: Reeler | comment Comment
07/12/07
Michelle Orange
Michelle Orange
Reeler

Aside from the subtleties found in Cheadle and Ejiofor's performances, this is biopic bombast.

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
07/12/07
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

A biopic with a strong sense of character and period.

Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
07/12/07
Mark Dujsik
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies

Explores the many levels of a friendship between a button-down African-American radio program director and a tell-it-like-it-is deejay who connects with the black community in Washington D.C

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
07/12/07
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Talk to Me

October 30, 2007: RT on DVD: Spider-Man 3 Arrives, My So-Called Life Re-issued!
Comic book fans should already feel their spidey senses a' tingling, because this week in home video belongs to a certain web-slinging superhero (Spider-Man 3). Of course, we're... More...

October 28, 2007: 51st London Film Festival - RT's Highlights
It's that time of year when the film world's biggest and brightest descend on London and show some Oscar hopefuls nice and early. RT has been spending time eyeing up the films... More...

October 26, 2007: CameraCinemas.com: The film captures the euphoric and daring, rebel music drenched energy that fueled radio culture back then, while also tuning in to the organic intensity of the times. Opens in new window
More...

August 02, 2007: Bourne Is Certified Fresh; Hot Rod Hits the Skids; Bratz is Grade-Z; El Cantante Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we got amnesiac spies (The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon and Julia Stiles), loser daredevils (Hot Rod, with Andy Samberg and Isla Fisher), salsa... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196

What’s Hot On RT

Nine Pictures

Nine Pictures

Hottest poster ever? 14 pictures from Nine

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

See what her 10 best reviewed films are!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
14
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
18
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
40
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
156
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
  • Tron Legacy Duo Heading into The Black Hole Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
101
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
96
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
55
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
40
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
36
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
22
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
20
  • 2010 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Announced
7
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Talk to Me at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Talk to Me at IGN
  • Talk to Me at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
History of Disney Animation
History of Disney Animation External Link

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

90 Years of Screen Vampires
90 Years of Screen Vampires External Link

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones
Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones External Link

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

Recent Headlines as TV Movies
Recent Headlines as TV Movies External Link

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.