Kelsey's Review

Summary - Great 4.0

Petey Greene (Cheadle) has just been released from prison. Through out his time there he was able to have his own radio show. Now that he is out he wants make this his career. He finds a connection to the industry through a fellow convict, Milo (Epps). His brother, Dewey (Ejifor) is in charged of bringing in the talent for WOL-AM radio. However, when Petey approaches him, Dewey completely blocks him out. Petey is loud and rude and feels that he would only risk Dewey’s job. After Petey continues to try, Dewey decides to give him a chance. He convinces the owner of the station, E.G. Sonderling (Sheen) to give him a shot. E.G. only goes along with it though because he has no one else to go on. Petey goes on the radio, but very quickly gets cut off. He can be very insulting, which isn’t very viewer friendly. Dewey and Petey do end up trying this again, but are only successful by locking everyone else out. Petey is once again cut off and Dewey nearly loses his job.
WOL-AM was suffering as a radio station. E.G. felt that they just couldn’t bare to take any risks and lose the callers that they did have. However, Petey’s broadcast actually does the opposite of this. The station can barely even keep track of all the calls that are pouring in because of Petey. Because of this he gets his own show. He talks about politics and the current situation of African Americans. He could care less about what others think and he doesn’t mind insulting them. Petey calls this “speaking the truth” though. This truth takes him a very long way. WOL-AM quickly becomes a very popular station and becomes a superior to all of the other radio broadcasters. Petey is as happy as can be with his job and his girlfriend, Vernell (Henson). Dewey pushes him to an even higher success though. He becomes Petey’s manager and vows to make him a star. He quickly gets him his own television show. The purpose gets lost in his stardom and Petey cheats on his girlfriend. The next thing he knows, he is going to be a guest on the tonight show. Dewey is far more excited about this than Petey though. Petey doesn’t feel comfortable with this new audience. He just wants to be talking to his own people, who know what he is talking about and will respond to the quality of the discussion rather than the jokes he cracks.

Acting - Perfect 5.0

The cast was tremendous. The role of Petey was originally supposed to go to Martin Lawrence. At first, it was doubted whether it was too rough of a character for Cheadle to handle. He definitely rose to the challenge. Cheadle gave us an obviously very flawed man in Petey Greene. However, this is just how the man was. His preaching wasn’t to talk down on anyone. Greene was simply trying to relate to people and spark change by showing him the world that he saw. Chiwetel Ejifor gave a great supporting performance through Dewey. He wanted success for Petey so badly. He wanted good representation for blacks as well as whites and he thought Petey was the man who could make this happen. Dewey repeatedly put his career on the line before he really even trusted Petey. The relationship between the two of them is very interesting. They might be the same race but aside from that, their physical appearance seems opposite. Petey is a ex-con who dresses like a pimp and uses foul language, while Dewey is a radio associate who makes an effort to dress properly and to be polite through his speech. They work together because they both want awareness. It is interesting though that Dewey proves to be capable of quite a bit himself. He was pushing Petey so much when he had the potential in him all along. Martin Sheen does well as E.G., the owner whose views changes as the publics does. At first he seems more like an antagonist, clearly working against Petey and his dream. When the public responds positively though, he is there with Petey. Another notable actor in the film was Cedric the Entertainer. The main reason I want to mention him is not because he gave an incredible performance. He did do a good job as one of Petey’s fellow deejays. Honestly though, it was really nice just seeing him do some more serious work for a change.

Film - Really Great 4.5

Talk to Me covers racial equality. Aside from the characters in the film, the most talked about man is Martin Luther King Jr. Although, Petey Greene had a very different approach than him he respected him immensely as did everyone else in the black community. One of the best parts of the film is when he dies. There is an outburst and rebellion in the city as a means of revenge for taking Martin Luther King’s life away. We see a very serious and non sarcastic Petey. This is really a tragedy to him and it almost feels like a defeat against him. He is able to keep his head on straight though and realize that anger won’t solve anything. Even if it did, he knows that it isn’t how Martin Luther King would have wanted it. He wanted peace and rights between the black and white races. Petey is able to properly respect him while still talking sense in to people and restoring peace in the city.

Edge - Risqué 2.4

There is a sex scene in the film although not much is actually shown. There is some violence too. There is a fight between Petey and one of the radio deejays. When the black community rises up against the killing of Martin Luther King Jr., much of the city is burning from fires that they caused. The rudeness is probably the worst thing. Petey didn’t care who he affended, he said it as he saw it.

Reality - Natural 1.0

It is based on the true story of Petey Greene. It doesn’t seem like the truth is stretched here. The film examines the type of person Petey was. Many people in Petey’s shoes would have given up after he was rejected by Dewey for a job on the radio. He stopped at nothing though and it paid off not just for him, but for the station and all of its’ listeners. This was Petey’s dream, but this dream can only be defined by Petey. Dewey tries to take it in to his own hands and this nearly ruins Petey, he cracks because he realizes stardom isn’t what he wanted. Petey just wanted to be on the radio. That is the only thing he has ever loved to do. It was the one way for him to do something positive with his life rather than go back to his life of thievery and deceit. He achieved this and ended up being a well respected man. When he died, 10,000 people attended his funeral; more than any other non-elected official in Washington D.C. He made WOL-AM a very successful station and it is now known as Radio One Network, one of the biggest media networks in the United States.

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