Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

Talk to Me

Giving Petey Greene his due

By TOM MEEK | July 11, 2007

3.0 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for Talk to Me.

None of Kasi Lemmons’s films (Caveman’s Valentine and Eve’s Bayou) so touches the heart or feels as authentic as Talk to Me, the engaging and superbly acted bio-pic about volatile ex-con Petey Greene, who grew from irrepressible radio jock to the voice of DC’s black populace during the tumultuous ’60s — a period that included the riotous aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Don Cheadle digs to soulful depths as Greene; Chiwetel Ejiofor plays it straight as Dewey Hughes, the suit (“White man with a tan”) who gives Greene his shot and, later, shepherds him to national fame and The Tonight Show. Not only do the two actors play off each other with perfect synergy, they also take on the eccentricities of the era and the politics of race — which Lemmons rightly holds as relevant today. Although the director succumbs to the genre’s temptation to wrap up a messy life with a neat, platitudinous resolution, she lets her cast give Greene and his era its due.

Related: King said George Romney didn't march, Kinky Boots, Interview: Greil Marcus, More

Topics: Reviews , Martin Luther King Jr., Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor

| More

ARTICLES BY TOM MEEK

REVIEW: GOD BLESS AMERICA | May 17, 2012
The latest dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait tackles both vapid celebrity culture ( i.e. , Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, and American Idol ) and the indignity of being an office drone.

REVIEW: THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS | April 24, 2012
Peter Lord, animator behind claymation staples Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run , directs this very British, very dry romp on the high seas during the time when Britannia did indeed rule the waves.

REVIEW: GOD BLESS AMERICA | April 18, 2012
The latest dark comedy from Bobcat Goldthwait tackles both vapid celebrity culture (i.e., Paris Hilton, the Kardashians and American Idol) and the indignity of being an office drone.

REVIEW: UNDEFEATED | March 15, 2012
Dan Lindsay and T. J. Martin's Oscar-winning documentary about an underequipped high-school football team competing against big-time programs across Tennessee offers a potent contemplation on race and opportunity.

REVIEW: DR. SEUSS' THE LORAX | March 01, 2012
Regrettably, this team loses a lot of Seuss's quirkiness, though not the message about corporate greed and slash-and-burn imperialism.