Talk to Me

Talk to Me is a solid biopic that's part fish out of water comedy, part sentimental weeper, and part historical drama. Don Cheadle gives an absolutely electrifying performance as Petey Greene, an ex-con who became a talk radio phenomenon in Washington D.C. by speaking out aggressively and honestly about the state of things in the nation. Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has a run in with Greene while he is still doing his stint in prison and happens to mention (most sarcastically) that he should "look him up" when he gets out. To Hughes' surprise Greene takes this as a job offer and upon gaining his freedom seeks out Hughes to get his new job. After a great deal of coaxing, Hughes decides that the outlandish and down to earth attitude of Greene might be just what the station needs to reinvigorate its local following. Hughes even goes as far as to risk his own job by going over the head of the station president (Martin Sheen) to get Petey on the air.

Greene becomes an instant sensation and inspires the station's new "for the people" attitude toward programming that connects with the African American D.C. community. Greene's value only escalates as he's thrown onto air to mourn the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and hold the community's hand through very trying times. All the way through, Greene and Hughes maintain a close friendship and professional partnership that over the course of this somewhat shapeless point by point narrative becomes the most grounding and consistent element. The film follows the lives of the two men for over more than twenty years and touches on the many different states of their relationship.

No matter what the story at hand, the film makes clear it's intentions to play as a fittingly abrasive tribute to the late Mr. Greene for his talents and his actions. Greene was known for his loud, unfiltered commentary and the film very fondly depicts him in all his wise ass glory. There's no shortage of great moments in which Cheadle as Greene one-ups his verbal sparing partners, or boldly struts through a room taking the less assertive and more willing to compromise employees of the radio station by storm. The film sways back and forth, sometimes very suddenly, from outrageous comedy antics to shaking tragedy. Greene was as troubled and prone to addiction as he was ferocious and magnetic, and like most great public figures, the spotlight only worsened his woes.

Cheadle and Ejiofor make for simply stunning leads. Each has a very different role to play - Cheadle is the wild firecracker and Ejiofor is the flustered straight man - and the two men work off one another brilliantly. The bond between Greene and Hughes flies off the screen in their interplay. Also stunning is Taraji P. Henson as Greene's long term girlfriend who also shares a tendency to speak her mind in spite of consequence. They make for a captivating and hilarious on screen couple.

The movie doesn't escalate Greene's life into a more dramatically riveting narrative than it is. As a film on it's own, it's packed with great scenes but has much difficulty finding its beat over the course of so many years in narrative time. It's still dynamic and exciting, most specifically because Greene's life provides such satisfying material and the cast delivers such rich performances.

Grade: B+