The young black man carrying the radio is ignored by most folk as he pushes a shopping cart full of junk through town. Every day he hangs out by the high school athletic fields, causing no harm, but lost in his own little world. The young black man, Robert Kennedy, is mentally retarded and largely invisible to everyone except for his hard-working mother, and the high school football coach, Harold Jones.

Coach Jones (Ed Harris) gradually takes an interest in Robert (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and invites him to watch the Hanna High School football squad up close. Jones also hangs the nickname ‘Radio’ on the young man, since he is always seen listening to an old transistor radio.

Despite Radio’s lack of communication skills, Jones lets him get involved in the high school football program by doing miscellaneous duties and acting as a cheerleader of sorts. However, most of the team is puzzled by the coach’s interest in a retarded black man and they start pulling tricks on Radio, which sends him retreating into his shell once again.

Coach Jones decides to take Radio under his wing anyway, and fights to get him enrolled in school and a member of the football squad. However, Radio’s behavior sometimes causes disruptions during football games, and most people take a dim view of Jones’ interest in the young man. Even Radio’s mother (Epatha Merkerson), who is a widow, is skeptical about Jones’ intentions. Pretty much the only person supporting Coach Jones is his wife Linda, played by Debra Winger.

As time progresses Radio gradually learns to communicate better, and most people see the value of his undying support of the high school’s athletic teams. However, Radio’s progress towards acceptance is fraught with several setbacks and severe trials. It eventually takes a widespread effort by the whole town to help-out Radio and assure that he has some kind of decent life, despite his lack of skills that are needed to succeed in this life.

The film Radio is loosely based on a real-life story of Robert “Radio” Kennedy. The film is set in the mid 1970s in the small town of Anderson, South Carolina. It is best described as a “heart warming family film”, with lots of highly emotional scenes focused on acceptance and concern for others.

Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris were both excellent in this film. Gooding’s role as Radio must have been very difficult to portray, since he had to present someone with diminished intelligence in a dignified manner.

While Radio is sometimes shown as overly “Goody-Goody”, he does have a full range of human emotions, which Gooding displays throughout the film. Harris’ role as a tough-on-the outside but tender-on-the-inside football coach was a less difficult role, but could have easily been messed up too. Harris is restrained enough in his emotions (mostly) to avoid being too mushy or too harsh.

Most of the other characters have just bit roles in the film, including Coach Jones’ wife Linda (Winger) and Radio’s mother (Merkerson). Winger and Merkerson both play it safe as dignified and thoughtful characters that only want what is best for Radio. Not surprisingly Radio has his detractors, but fortunately of them none are over-the-top bigots.

I think the film did a good job of showing the struggles of a young man who was excluded from the rest of society, but did not quite know why he was different. The film’s unspoken theme seems to be asking: “How should we treat people who are less able to function in society?”

The plot of Radio was fairly predictable and syrupy, but they did restrain the emotions sometimes. Radio did not do everything quite right, and his classmates weren’t always thrilled with this presence, which I think would be true in real life.

This is a good film if you are looking for an uplifting story. It was filmed on location in South Carolina and did a good job (mostly) of capturing the 1970s time period, which now seem kind of quaint. Overall I think Radio worth a four-star rating.

Running Time: 109 Minutes
Rating: PG for mild language

© trailhound. 2005.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12