Pros: Oscar quality acting from both Cuba Gooding jr. & Ed Harris
Cons: None. Not a one.
The Bottom Line: This movie is about the triumph of the human spirit. It is a declaration that there still is good in the world. What a fantastic movie this is.
Spy Kids 2 came replete with free 3-D glasses - I have a feeling that when Radio is released on October 24th Sony Pictures will partner with Kleenex ® for an economic tie-in of epic proportions. Radio is a feel good winner that brings Cuba Gooding Jr. back to his Jerry McGuire Oscar winning level. This is a movie that will resonate with families around the country. Finally we are being provided entertainment that shows man’s humanity to man... It’s about time.
Release Date: October 24, 2003 (wide)
Director: Michael Tollin (Summer Catch)
Screenwriter: Mike Rich (Finding Forrester, The Rookie & Miracles)
Music By: James Horner
Studio: Revolution Studios & Columbia Pictures
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/radio/index.html
Rating: PG – for mild language and thematic elements
Cast
James Robert Kennedy “Radio”: Cuba Gooding Jr.
Coach Harold Jones: Ed Harris
Mrs. Kennedy: S. Epatha Merkerson
Linda Jones: Debra Winger
Principal Reynolds: Alfre Woodard
The Story
Radio is mainly played out in and around South Carolina’s T.L. Hanna High School. And while most of the story takes place in 1976 the whole of the story covers over 30 years of history – but that is only because it is still being played out today. The story centers on the one misfit in the community – Radio (which becomes his moniker as it reflects his absolute love for all things radio) a 17 year old, slow, illiterate black man that never speaks to those around him even though he is omnipresent.
Like most small towns throughout America everything hangs in the balance of school sports. The whole town is a twitter with the possibilities of this years crop of football players. Will this be the year T.L. Hanna goes back to states? And the center of this maelstrom is Coach Jones (Ed Harris) the one upon whom the whole town has pinned their hopes on.
During practice one day Coach finds Radio locked in a utility closet, hog tied and crying hysterically. Coach is quick to vet out punishment to the members of his football team that perpetrated this crime. Soon Radio finds his life changing as Coach begins to make an effort to learn more about him and help in anyway he can. Once Coach builds a relationship with him he starts inviting him to practice and to root on the team from the sidelines.
Radio is eventually whipped into the center of this small town life and of course conflict ensues. It wouldn’t be the feel-good movie of the year if there wasn’t something to overcome and feel good about. Half way through the year the football team’s record isn’t even .500 and there are influential members of the town that believe it is all Radio’s fault for distracting Coach from his primary responsibility – which is, of course, to win. Or is it?
The Cast
Finally Cuba Gooding jr. is in a role he had to stretch to master. And master it he does. He makes us love Radio in all his innocence from the very first scenes. I don’t think he had more than 2 paragraphs of lines throughout this entire movie… but you cherish each one all the more because of their scarcity. Cuba emotes in such wonderfully rich nonverbal ways throughout this movie that I wonder why someone of his caliber would even consider a movie like Snow Dogs.
And the talent doesn’t end with Cuba – Ed Harris actually carries this movie throughout. It is his conviction that he should do the right thing in the face of extraordinary pressure. It is Ed Harris that makes the relationship between these two completely believable. Debra Winger also plays a small but extremely convincing role as Coach’s wife.
The one role that really impressed me the most was Radio’s mother, Mrs. Kennedy played by Epatha Merkerson. A widow left with two sons to raise, one with severe disabilities Epatha makes us believe that this is a tough road to hoe but she would do it and more because she loves her boys that much. There is a fantastic scene when Coach brings Radio a Christmas present – it ends with all three of them dancing together each enjoying Radio’s unadulterated joy.
The Skinny
See this flick. I was thinking about that being my only comment at all about this movie. “See this flick!” But I didn’t figure I would be taken very seriously. So, I’ve written all that gibberish above just to get to this point and say it loud and clear. “SEE THIS FLICK!”
What a fantastic movie this is. A movie like this could have steeped to racism so quickly – and yet it doesn’t even try. The screenwriter even went so far as to write in a black principal at the school that was Coach’s counterbalance. This movie is just about the triumph of the human spirit. It is a declaration that there still is good in the world and this is just one example of it. Reminds me of the days after 9/11 when we heard about story after story of total strangers helping out victims just because. It is stories like this one that really gives a person a reason for hope.
The true story of a high school football coach who mentors a mentally challenged boy that no one understands. When the coach allows the young man to h...More at HotMovieSale.com
For anyone who ever had a dream and everyone with the courage to stand up for what they believe, comes the real life story of Robert Radio Kennedy. Ex...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.