If Academy members don't forget this summer release come voting time, star Don Cheadle should have himself his second Oscar nomination. As the original shock jock Petey Greene, he is the electric force that brings this biopic alive and helps raise it above the typical "true life story." He is helped along by great supporting work from DIRTY PRETTY THINGS' Chiwetel Ejiofor and HUSTLE & FLOW's Taraji P. Henson.
Greene is working as a prison DJ when he meets rising radio exec Dewey Hughes (Ejiofor), who is begrudgingly visiting his brother Milo (Mike Epps, SOMETHING NEW). Upon his release from prison, Greene, with his afroed girlfriend Vernell Watson (Henson) in tow, comes to see Dewey, who is very embarrassed when his boss E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen, APOCALYPSE NOW) sees the flamboyant miscreant. But Petey's protest outside the studio starts to wear Dewey down and he eventually gives Greene a chance to liven up their morning show. At first it doesn't seem to work out, but soon Petey becomes a sensation and Dewey pushes him into stand-up then TV even if Petey doesn't want it.
Cheadle of course gets the attitude right, but it's the tender and controlled anger that makes the performance special. Take note to the scene after Vernell kicks him out and the events surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ejiofor is a great actor, who gives an equal performance to Cheadle in the more subtle role. Dewey is an educated African-American who has raised himself out of the ghetto. Sometimes to tries to live out his own dreams through Petey. Henson is effortlessly natural as the sassy girlfriend who stands by her man during his incarceration and his philandering. Other memorable roles include Cedric the Entertainer (BARBERSHOP) as deep voiced DJ "Nighthawk" Bob Terry and Vondie Curtis-Hall (ROMEO + JULIET) as former morning show host Sunny Jim Kelsey.
From a well-developed screenplay by Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa, Kasi Lemmons, who is best known as Jodie Foster's fellow female student in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, directs her third feature film with TALK TO ME. She handles the material with little sentiment, allowing the honest performances of her great cast to serve as the flare. Her pacing nicely builds to the climactic (and disastrous) TONIGHT SHOW appearance. The tension comes from the character's personalities; developed from what has come before. I also liked how she shot the scenes in a way to naturally incorporate the original footage of Johnny Carson into the film.
What makes Petey Greene's story so captivating is the man's honesty. He tells it how it is whether you want to hear it or not. Petey can only be Petey and won't be anything else. Hughes is the character that changes because of his relationship with Petey, becoming closer to the man he wished he could become. Petey Greene changed the face of radio for which every morning show DJ owes him their careers.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
