Cheadle’s performance is well worth the price of this HD-DVD.
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Don Cheadle is an actor I admire very much. There are so many great performances from Cheadle that I have a difficult time deciding which ones I enjoy the most. He was incredible in "Boogie Nights" and "Devil in a Blue Dress." "Traffic," "Out of Sight" and the "Ocean´s Eleven" films are all fine films to watch this talented actor. Recently, Cheadle has taken time out to film a few biographical films about influential black men. He was incredible in "Hotel Rwanda" as hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina and now in "Talk to Me" as radio personality Ralph Waldo Emerson "Petey" Greene, Jr. In two more years, he will portray Toussaint Louverture in "Toussaint." I look forward to that film.
Keeping with the present, Cheadle is perfect as Petey Greene. I managed to find some old footage of Greene from his Washington D.C. television show and discovered just how close Cheadle was to the man he portrayed. His vocal behaviors and mannerisms are mimicked exactly by Cheadle. There is sometimes that one role that is perfectly suited to a particular actor and Petey Greene was a man destined to be brought to the screen by Don Cheadle. If he does not get some award recognition for his performance, then a huge injustice will be served to both Don Cheadle and the memory of Petey Greene. I haven´t seen a lot of films this year where a performance particularly stood out, but this one is an exception to the norm.
Petey Greene is a lifelong thief who finds himself in prison. Once in prison, his good behavior allows him to make the prison PA announcements. Eventually, he is given the ability to run a prison based radio program through the public announcement system of the prison and directly because of his work ethic and good behavior. He becomes a voice of the prisoners and they are greatly entertained by Petey´s ´tell it like it is´ style. One prisoner, Miko Hughes (Mike Epps) is moved by Petey´s words and tells his brother Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) all about the prison disc jockey. Dewey works for the successful Washington D.C. AM radio station WOL 1450 and Petey is hoping that Dewey will be a source for a job as a DJ when he serves his time and is freed from prison.
One day, Petey is freed from prison. He had talked an inmate into climbing a prison structure and threatening suicide. The warden asks Petey to talk the man down and is rewarded for his efforts. It took Petey three minutes to talk him down, but six months to get him to climb up. Once freed, Petey seeks out Dewey and travels to the radio station with his girlfriend Vernell Watson (Taraji P. Henson). Vernell wants to meet WOL´s top DJ, ´Nighthawk´ Bob Terry (Cedric the Entertainer) and makes a scene from the moment they enter the radio station. Petey demands to talk to the boss, but instead of facing Dewey, he is introduced to the station´s head man, E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen). Eventually, Petey comes face-to-face with Dewey and claims he was promised a job, but is asked to leave and does so unemployed.
It takes some time, but Petey is resilient and goes to great lengths to earn a job from Dewey. It took a lesson in humility for Petey to finally earn his spot at WOL and Dewey is hesitant to offer Petey the job, but realizes that the radio station needs to keep an edge as the ´Station of the People´ to remain on top of the D.C. airwaves. Petey is given the morning drive timeslot against the wishes of Sonderling and the resident DJ of the time, Ronnie Simmons (Sean MacMahon). Petey is thrown out of the station after a few minutes on the air for insulting the Motown head and making other comments that Sonderling deemed greatly inappropriate. Dewey is demoted.
Dewey overhears some men talking at a local bar about Petey Greene and the comments he made. At this point, Dewey realizes that Petey is a man who can appeal to the masses and it is his conveyance of the truth that has won over the people. Dewey and Petey concoct a plan to get him back in the studio and this requires locking Sonderling and others into their offices. When the phones start to ring off the hook, Sonderling agrees to let Petey keep his job and the disc jockey pushes FCC regulations, but propels WOL to the top for his timeslot. He is a tremendous overnight success.
As more and more success comes Petey´s way, Dewey decides to become his manager and expand Petey´s market. Petey finds himself doing stand-up comedy and recording records. He finds himself moving from his beloved radio to having his own television show. Petey continues to succeed because he tells it like it is and the people admire him for his stark and honest opinions and views. When Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot, Petey takes to the airwaves and helps calm the rioters that have set Washington D.C. on fire. A drunken Petey later takes the stage to introduce James Brown to the angry masses. Petey has become a massive success and earned a spot on Johnny Carson.
Petey only wanted to be on radio and he becomes further and further disenchanted with the management of Dewey. Dewey is like a brother to him, but the continued distance from WOL has only caused Petey to be angry with Dewey and when the radio personality finally appears on Carson, the results are disastrous. In just a few minutes, the empire of Petey Greene comes tumbling down. He fires Dewey and disappears into a stupor of alcohol. Vernell leaves him until he is sober and many years pass until he rekindles a friendship with Dewey; who eventually becomes a top radio personality by providing his own voice after learning from Petey.
"Talk to Me" is a biographical film. It is a highly entertaining picture that succeeds because of its important and interesting story and the strength of its actors. Don Cheadle is an amazing actor, but he is not the only person in this film. British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is very good as Dewey. After seeing him in "Amistad" and "American Gangster" over the past couple of months, Ejiofor´s role as a Caucasian acting black man is done well. Taraji Henson´s character is annoying, but her performance is commendable. Cedric the Entertainer and Martin Sheen are also very good in their respective roles. Other supporting cast handle their roles expertly and even without Cheadle, this is a well-acted film.
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[release]22064[/release]