Themes: Race Relations, Going Straight, Members of the Press
Main Cast: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps
Release Year: 2007
Country: US
Run Time: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Don Cheadle stars as outspoken ex-convict and iconic radio personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene in a powerful biopic detailing the life and career of a media figure whose voice instilled the black community with hope during the turbulent 1960s. After talking his way onto the Washington, D.C. airwaves in the era of free love, a man emboldened by the inspirational soul music and rapidly expanding social consciousness that defined the decade openly courts controversy as his put-upon producer, Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), runs interference. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Given the ostentatious and highly cinematic life lived by Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, a self-described miscreant turned straight-talking D.C. DJ, it's hard to believe we waited until 2007 for his biopic to materialize. Maybe it took having the right team in place: director Kasi Lemmons, screenwriters Rick Famuyiwa and Michael Genet, and stars Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who shape the man in vivid, moving, and often hilarious ways. A film like this lives and dies by the performance of its lead, and Cheadle perfectly mixes the reckless bravado that made Greene fun to behold with the self-doubt that made him human. But unlike most biopics, Cheadle shares the screen with a co-protagonist, Ejiofor as Dewey Hughes, his manager and an eventual legendary disc jockey in his own right. Much is made about how each character's strengths complete the other. The same can be said for the actors, who play off each other terrifically; Ejiofor's role not only doesn't take the movie away from Cheadle, but actually gives it the depth to rise above the paint-by-numbers nature of many biopics. Some numbers do get painted in the second half, as Greene's life had a trajectory typical of a star who burns brightly, then flames out, consumed by his fatal flaw. But much more indelible are the scenes that stand out from a conventional narrative arc, such as Petey's impromptu late-night eulogy to Martin Luther King Jr., where the normally incendiary personality tried to extinguish the flames burning outside the building by urging rioters to heed Dr. King's message. Coming on the heels of a slapstick brawl between Greene and the DJ who just slept with his girlfriend, this scene only hints at how expertly Lemmons juxtaposes the comic and tragic portions that tugged for control of Greene's life. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Patrick Banister - Art Director, Victoria Thomas - Casting, Robin D. Cook - Casting, Vicky Lambert - Choreography, Paul Becker - Choreography, Gersha Phillips - Costume Designer, Walter Gasparovic - First Assistant Director, Kasi Lemmons - Director, J. Miles Dale - Second Unit Director, Terilyn A. Shropshire - Editor, Don Cheadle - Executive Producer, William Horberg - Executive Producer, J. Miles Dale - Executive Producer, Bruce Toll - Executive Producer, Joey Rappa - Executive Producer, Terence Blanchard - Composer (Music Score), Barry Cole - Musical Direction/Supervision, Warren Alan Young - Production Designer, Stephane Fontaine - Cinematographer, Dennis Chapman - Production Manager, Mark Gordon - Producer, Sidney Kimmel - Producer, Joe Fries - Producer, Josh McLaughlin - Producer, Glen Gauthier - Sound/Sound Designer, Jay Nierenberg - Sound/Sound Designer, Stuart Provine - Sound/Sound Designer, Jamie Jones - Stunts Coordinator, J. Miles Dale - Unit Production Manager, Michael Genet - Screen Story, Michael Genet - Screenwriter, Rick Famuyiwa - Screenwriter, David Insley - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Brian Heller - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Aaron Weintraub - Visual Effects Supervisor, Marc Fishman - Re-Recording Mixer, Tony Lamberti - Re-Recording Mixer, John LaForet - Special Effects Coordinator, Jay Nierenberg - Supervising Sound Editor, Cal Loucks - Set Decorator, Patricia Cuccia - Set Decorator, Hugh Masekela - Featured Music, Les McCann - Featured Music, Sam Cooke - Featured Music, Billy Preston - Featured Music, James Brown - Featured Music, The Staple Singers - Featured Music, Booker T. & the MG's - Featured Music, Al Green - Featured Music, Sly & the Family Stone - Featured Music
Talk To Me is a 2007film about Washington, D.C.radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist, and Dewey Hughes, his friend and manager. The movie spans the time period May 1966 to January 1984, ending with the late Greene's memorial service.
The film received favorable reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 117 reviews.[2] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 69 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[3]
Criticism over inaccuracies
The film has been criticized for allegedly not being true to the details of his life and career and for inventing incidents and rearranging locations, such as Petey's appearance on The Tonight Show, which never actually took place.[4]
Petey Greene's surviving family members did not cooperate with the making of the film and criticized it for taking liberties with his portrayal and those around him,[5] such as showing Dewey Hughes giving a moving eulogy at Petey's wake, when in reality Hughes did not even attend the funeral.
In response to these criticisms, producer Joe Fries responded that the film was merely "inspired by" Greene and not a factual recounting of his life.
