Radio

Rating:
Summary: Less is More
Review: RADIO joins the ranks of memorable films that help us all appreciate the mentally challenged citizens of our world, much the way I AM SAM, THE OTHER SISTER etc have done. RADIO is based on a real person - James Robert Kennedy - and Cuba Gooding, Jr lifts this character to tender heights. Set in a small town (Hanna) in South Carolina, "Radio" is a loner who is tolerated and taunted by the townspeople until the football coach (Ed Harris) turns himself and Radio around, allowing the town (and team) to mature into caring folk who make this tender man a part of the lown's heart. Not a huge story here, but the actors include such committed stars as Ed Harris, Debra Winger (in a welcome return to the screen), Alfre Woodward, S. Epatha Merkerson, and of course, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and make it memorable. For some reason this film has been overlooked, perhaps because it is a rather quiet and small scale treatment of the story. I recommend you try it: it is worth more - as an investment of your time and feelings.

Rating:
Summary: 4 Stars are because it's SO GREAT to see Debra Winger again!
Review: Debra Winger. This is really a thankless role but one that is meaningful in a few ways. However, it does show that this particular actress is far more deserving of good roles and should be getting them. How can we fans help? Go see her films.

Rating:
Summary: only in your dream, man
Review: whoa, since when suddenly all the white people (except the stupid young cop who arrested radio and the father of the star football/basket ball highschooler) became saints? give me a break. the time frame seems to be mistakenly placed while the whole america was still like south africa. if those white people in this most white town were already that open-minded, i just don't why dr. martin luther king still had to fight for the black people and then been assansinated (obviously by a white sniper?) anyway, cuba and ed harris are both great actors in this sorta boring movie that cosmetically beautified 99% of the still civil- right-fighting america.

Rating:
Summary: could have been better
Review: Radio is an average film about a young man with a learning disability (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who is invited to join in with the local high school football team after the coach (Ed Harris) catches a few of his players torturing him. The young man has a real interest in radios, so that becomes his nickname. He eventually becomes another coach, even running drills with the players.

The film is really about the relationship Harris forms with Gooding. Harris even invites Radio to school to take part in the classes he teaches. Naturally, some object, including the principal (Alfre Woodard), who has to keep standing up to the school board when they want to know why a disabled grown man is spending all day in their classrooms. Another major complaint comes from the father of the star athlete who feels that Radio is a joke and a distraction from the team. He infects his son with this attitude and his son does some rather mean things to Radio.

This film is pretty good on some levels and rather weak in others. Take for example Harris' family. It is hinted at early on that Harris has never made time for his now 17 year old daughter. This relationship is never developed in the movie, except for one scene which supposedly explains why he is so passionate about helping Radio. The whole structure seems weak and unbelievable. I also was not blown away by Gooding's performance. It is so easy these days to give an actor credit just for playing the part of a disabled person. Make no mistake, this is no Rain Man performance.

Overall, this is a good movie that could have been much better. Considering the fact that it is based on a true story, it really missed its chance. At the end, when we see clips of the real Radio, that is without a doubt the best part of the movie. It shouldn't have been that way.

Rating:
Summary: Moving and Inspiring Drama
Review: High school football coach Harold Jones (Ed Harris) is getting ready for what should be a top season for his team. When he finds a few of his players harassing a mentally challenged young man after practice one day, he steps in and even finds a few things that "Radio" (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) can do to help the team. This outreach doesn't sit well with everyone in town who worry about having a mentally challenged person so close to their kids. Coach Jones, however, fights for Radio's ability to stay involved in sports and even begin a job at the high school. Slowly, their bond of friendship grows. But will they ever overcome other's prejudice?

When I first heard about this movie, I was ready to give it a pass. Seemed like movies I'd seen before. After my mom raved about it, I gave it a second chance and went to see it. Am I ever glad I did.

The performances from the two leads are amazing. They are given lots of material to work through, and both handle it well. This is especially true of Cuba Gooding, Jr., who makes the mentally challenged title character come to life in a believable and sympathetic way. The story is uplifting, not depressing like I had first feared. Based on a true story, it is even more inspiring to see the two real people at the end. It really challenged me to look at those around me for people who might need my help.

Anyone looking for a movie that will encourage and inspire them will love this film. It's a great film with truly memorable characters (who happen to be real) and wonderful performances.

Rating:
Summary: Hollywood finally got it right!
Review: Radio is perhaps the best movie I've seen in years and deserves to be in every home, school, and library. It's message is a wonderful lesson for all of us: One person standing up for what is right can make a huge impact on the lives of others. The coach is a very positive role model, especially for boys, and Radio shows us what true forgiveness really means. I loved this movie when it was in the theatres, and I'll be purchasing this great family movie (not for most children under 10 though) to enjoy over and over again. It's even better than Remember the Titans, which is another favorite of mine. By the way, these two films focus on football, a sport I don't particularly care for and never watch. Radio, like Titans, isn't about football; it's about interpersonal relationships. A chick flick? Not exactly, but wives will enjoy this one every bit as much as their macho hubbies. No sex scenes either, which we can do without. Even the girl's locker-room scene was tasteful. You should buy this movie and use it as a springboard for some serious discussions. Just a wonderful, wonderful movie.

Rating:
Summary: Listen to RADIO
Review: I went to see Radio with my friends, what a great movie it was! Cuba Gooding Jr. is fantastic as Radio and you will fall in love with him. This story touched my heart and it will touch you too.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good movie
Review: This movie tries to be dramatic and sad, but that makes it really funny. Movies now days that try to do this are never good because the only good ones are old. Plot moves quickly and the football scenes are neat. Bad acting and the dramatic lines are predictable.

Rating:
Summary: Great Acting, But Pretty Slow Paced
Review: James Robert Kennedy (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), better known as Radio, has been wandering the streets of his small South Carolina hometown for as long as anyone can remember. Most people leave him alone, knowing that he is harmless, and hardly anyone even really sees him anymore as he pushes his shopping cart around. But one day, Coach Jones (Ed Harris) finds a few of his star football players picking on Radio and he is intrigued and wants to find out more about him. It is obvious that Radio is a little "different" and more than a little slow, but there is something about him that touches Coach Jones' heart. To try and make it up to Radio, Coach Jones invites him to help out at the football practices and Radio is slowly adopted by the team. Unfortunately, not all of the ball players and townspeople are ready to accept Radio and invite him to be a part of their lives. As Coach Jones becomes more involved in the life of Radio, he is forced to make some difficult decisions in his own life and to see himself - and his family - in a whole new light.

Ed Harris, who played Coach Jones, and Cuba Gooding, Jr., who played Radio, were both superb in this film. Gooding did a fabulous job of playing the sweet, innocent Radio who honestly believed that everyone liked him and wanted to help him. His performance was definitely a highlight of this film. Harris also did a great job as a gruff, tough, small town football coach who discovers that he does have a heart after all. The supporting cast was also excellent and I cannot think of anyone who was miscast in the film. My major complaint is that the film is very slow paced and nothing really happens. I enjoy a good drama as much as the next person, but the film was billed as a kind of sports-drama so I was thinking of something along the lines of Remember the Titans with some more action and some comedy thrown in. There are little bits of comedy and little glimpses of action, but just about all of them are shown in the trailer. On the plus side, there is nothing inappropriate in the movie so the whole family can go and see it together. If you are in the mood for a nice, slow-paced, feel good movie than this is a great pick for your evening.

Rating:
Summary: A Movie that Defies your Expectations
Review: I HATE Cuba Gooding Jr. Until I saw this movie I thought he was one of the worst actors working in Hollywood today. I thought he ruined every movie he was ever involved in. I had made my judgment about this movie long before I saw it; it looked like just another sickeningly sweet movie that Hollywood is far too fond of making. I thought that would take the Disney approach to sports movies and be populated with convenient stock characters. This is not the case. "Radio" has been accused of a lot, it seems as though every review I've read in the press has commented that "Radio" is yet another movie about the mentally challenged teaching the rest of us the virtues of simplicity. I disagree; "Radio" is not so much about the virtues of simplicity as it is about the hazards of artificial complexity. There is a distinct difference between the two. It doesn't encourage us to be like Radio and disregard all of life's great complexities, like so many other movies of this type do. Instead, it only asks us not to impose complexity just because we can.
The other criticism I've heard again and again is that Ed Harris's character does not do enough to explain his actions. It appears that these two criticisms go hand in hand. I believe that Harris's character does more than enough to explain his actions, perhaps even a little too much. Take your pick, your choices are: he wants to find a way to make up for the cruelty of his players, or he wants to make up for his own inaction against an injustice he witnessed in childhood, or just because he "figures it's the right thing to do". If he was just serving a penance as the first two options suggest, he could have quit long ago. The answer is that Coach Jones knows it's the right thing to do, we can see the quiet righteousness in his eyes from the very first moment he's on screen. He sees things very clearly through those eyes, and it is because of his constant, stoic clarity that he is able to overcome the attempts of others to make the issue overly complex. This is what is so compelling about "Radio". Its message is very simple, look into your heart, and into the hearts of others and you will always know which course to take. It's a message that so often goes unheeded, especially when it comes to dealing with someone who does not fit perfectly into a mold, regardless of disability. These people are sometimes just left behind, or at worst their spirits are crushed along the way. This is done at the hands of a bureaucracy which my it's very nature has no soul and thus cannot recognize one. Radio's biggest problem is not his disability, but rather the fact that no one in power knew quite what to do with him. The answer is to do what you know is right, and don't muddy the waters with prejudice.