Fale Comigo

My husband and I saw this movie the day it premiered in Los Angeles. The movie trailer and buzz, plus the music, attracted our attention. We love all music from the 60s and 70s, and especially anything by James Brown. We've always lived on the west coast, so neither of us had heard of Petey Greene (Don Cheadle) or his manager, Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor). We did a little internet searching when we got home to find out Greene had been married, had children, and worked all his life as an activist for social reform by reintegrating ex-convicts back into the community and getting them jobs. All that wasn't important to the film but was interesting to know about Greene's real life. Lends more credence to the reason for his story being told. TALK TO ME is a well-made biopic that I'd highly recommend to family and friends.

Excellent movie about Washington DC jockey Petey Greene. I had never heard of him, but Director Kasi Lemmons made such a good movie with great characters that I (as an audience member) was interested in finding out about him. Lemmons evokes the music, dress & style of the time very well, and all of the cast was great--not just Don Cheadle, but EVERYONE; as a woman, I liked how his girlfriend was portrayed as a strong woman who knew her man well (his strengths and his weaknesses). I highly recommend it, not just to hear some great period music, but to learn about someone who made a difference (at least in the lives of the people of DC). Both thumbs up! :D

I just had the opportunity to watch this movie at a very first preview in Los Angeles and therefore some things I've seen might be replaced. They told us, that this was the very first screening (the director and some actors were present, too) and they are still working on the final things.

However, I, as most of the audience did, enjoyed the movie very much. It has a great mixture of humor (especially the unbeatable Don Cheadle as Petey and his wife Vernell) combined with a very strong and breathtaking story of the time around the death of Martin Luther King Junior. Even if the story is really deep and not always funny, the director made it possible to view the life of Petey as a very special one, without losing the focus on his fascinating, humor-filled character.

Whenever this movie comes out: Go to the theaters and enjoy - I will definitely go again to laugh and think about this great, special guy! PS: Die spouse of the director, Vondie Curtis-Hall, has a (supporting) role as well, even if he is not listed in here (yet?) on IMDb.

"I'll tell it to the hot, I'll tell it to the cold. I'll tell it to the young, I'll tell it to the old. I don't want no laughin', I don't want no cryin', and most of all, no signifyin'. This is Petey Greene's Washington." Petey Greene

Petey Greene was as big in radio in the mid-to-late 60's as Howard Stern in the 90's only Greene was much more powerful an advocate for and influence over minorities that Stern ever even thought to be. Stern himself admits to Petey's groundbreaking DJ persona, speaking truthfully from the heart.

Talk to me smartly chronicles Greene's astounding rise to national prominence as a Washington, D.C. black advocate, whose only limitation dramatically is that in the end his career and life ended pathetically as a result of hubris and misunderstanding.

Don Cheadle as Petey and Chiwetel Ejiofor as his "Mr. Tibbs" manager, Dewey Hughes, are the acting team of the year, initially despising each other, needling each other to be more than they are, comforting each other in down times, and ultimately responsible for the major successes and failures of their lives. All this with barely a scene overplayed. Even after Martin Luther King's death, when Petey the ex-con DJ goes on the air to help mitigate the destructive revenge of blacks in D.C., Cheadle underplays effectively.

The limitation of Talk to Me is that the story has been told many times before, the typical rise and fall of a star, even though it may be true. In this case it is, and the last third of the film suffers from a clichéd depiction of Petey's degeneration and death, both of which are not half as interesting as his rise to stardom. That he struggled with alcohol his whole life, never became comfortable with stand up comedy or TV talk show hosting, and ominously coughed for cancer are not interesting parts of his life, albeit accurate and dominant in his decline.

However, his failure on his only appearance on the Tonight Show is a memorable caution about being something you are not, being forced into a role not meant for you.

Dieing in his early 50's from lung cancer is a sad denouement to a life that had been broadcasting iconic when he simply told it the way it was from a little studio that let him speak effectively to his people about rights and pride. Over 10,000 attended his funeral in D.C., more than any non-elected person in the city's history. Petey would have been proud.

Petey Greene: I'll tell it to the hot, I'll tell it to the cold. I'll tell it to the young, I'll tell it to the old. I don't want no laughin', I don't want no cryin', and most of all, no signifyin'. This is Petey Greene's Washington.

What a fascinating person Petey Greene was. What an important person Petey Greene. Sure he might have just seemed like a sharp-witted loud-mouth smart-ass, but his courage to speak out against the racial injustices of the 60s broke ground for later radio disjockeys such as Howard Stern, Don Imus and a lot more. 'Talk to Me', Kasi Lemmon's latest feature chronicling the rise and fall of radio dis-jockey turned talk show host Petey Greene is flawed but moving.

The film's biggest problem lies in the writing. There's a few parts in the middle of the film that really drag. The dialogue is realistic and often quite funny. Kasi Lemmons directing is adequate, while the cast is sensational. Don Cheadle is hysterical and compelling all at the same time. He perfectly embodies Greene, doesn't create an over-the-top character but a man we can relate and sympathize with. The multi-talented Chitwel Ejofor (Kinky Boots, Children of Men) is just as good in a less showy role as Greene's manager, and Tarj P. Henson is amusing to say the least as Greene's girlfriend. Martin Sheen and Mike Epps are solid in their small roles, and Cedric the Entertainer is decent in a role that really doesn't require much acting range.

All in all, 'Talk to Me' is a powerful movie wrapped around an intriguing real-life story. Grade: B+