Petey Greene was an ex-con who made his way onto the influential WOL-AM in Washington, D.C. in the late 1960s. There, the disc jockey became an unlikely community leader and outspoken straight-talker during the Vietnam War and civil rights movement. Director Kasi Lemmons (”Eve’s Bayou,” “The Caveman’s Valentine”) helms “Talk to Me,” a biopic of Greene’s life with the always-reliable Don Cheadle in the lead role.
Unfortunately, for all the wild controversy that Petey ignited in his time, “Talk to Me” ends up being as generic and watered-down as its title. (Imdb.com counts ten other movies or TV shows called “Talk to Me” since 1984. Don’t even get me started on the flavorless nature of most commercial movie titles these days.)
What I can’t understand is why you would want to make a movie about a no-holds-barred personality using the same old recycled rise-and-fall storyline from a million other biographical films. That may have been the arc of the man’s life, but there are so many other ways to present this story—a jagged timeline, more of a historical context, depicting a shorter time span, or even a first-person account that gets inside Petey’s head and maybe even goes into his obvious darker side or inner fantasies. He was clearly a troubled man, but we get no sense of why from “Talk to Me.”
Rather than getting to know Petey’s background, the movie begins with him already in prison. His radio personality is more or less developed too, and he cleverly cons his way out of his full jail sentence. Cheadle and Taraji P. Henson (as his flamboyant girlfriend Vernell) explode with attitude and confidence as they storm into the radio station and demand that Petey be put on the air. Whether its true or not, it makes for a funny scene, in a broad sitcom kind of way.
His struggle to get on the air culminates in a high stakes game of pool with program director Dewey Hughes (Chiwitel Ejiofor) that is designed to show that, while he may not be the brash-talking provocateur that Petey is, Hughes is not one to kowtow to the white man. What it actually shows is that he’s a really good pool player. The stock plot of two men from opposite sides coming to the middle rears its head here.
Petey is just plain cool, and he tells it like it is. The audience is way ahead of the radio executives on this, especially blustery owner E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen), who lets an African-American take over as program director, but doesn’t trust his judgement enough to take his suggestion that Petey be on the air. In a ridiculous scene meant to capsulize what probably took weeks, Petey and Dewey lock themselves in the control room while the police are called to remove them. Luckily enough for them, callers immediately flood the phones after mere minutes on the air to save their jobs.
Petey’s rise is simplified and presented in easy-to-swallow caplets, but at least it’s good, breezy fun. Lemmons has a lot to work with here, filling the sound design up with great sounding late 60s/early 70s funk and soul to give the period some authenticity. When it comes to the socio-political aspect, though, things get fuzzy. A couple montages with music and stock footage don’t add up to much and we’re left wanting more context.
Most of the movie is spent Petey’s meteoric rise, but as soon as Dewey starts over-booking and over-working him, he falls back into old habits, drinking and screwing around. His fall is a stupefying mess, starting with the “movie cough” that foreshadows bad things and ending with ten years crunched into about ten minutes. After ambling by on its actors’ considerable charm for over an hour, the film becomes a confusing mess, eager to wrap up in a gauzy tribute.
How can a movie about a maverick personality be a tribute if it plays it safe every step of the way?
[…] …those immortal words are from Ace Frehley (who makes his second appearance in the News section in less than two weeks!), in his deservedly obscure song “Talk to Me” from KISS‘ Unmasked album in 1980. The late 60s/early 70s Petey Greene biopic starring Don Cheadle shares a title with Ace’s distinguished track, but does it live up to the lazy, predictable nature of the KISS song? Eric thinks so….check this out. […]
Didn’t Nirvana cover that Kiss song?
nope, nevermind, different song…
So despite your overall negative review of the movie, do you feel that this is another legitimate chance for Don Cheadle to get an Oscar Nomination? I’ve heard some buzz.
Yeah, Nirvana covered “Do You Love Me” on this crazy obscure KISS tribute called “Hard to Believe” on C/Z Records. Funny enough, ol’ Gene Simmons threatened to sue them for using the KISS makeup (from the cover of KISS’ “Love Gun”), so the co. re-issued the album with another cover and a message on the inside that said “Don’t Sue Us, Gene!”
As far as an Oscar nod for Cheadle, I think the movie’s too lightweight and will be forgotten come Oscar time. Look for Steve Zahn from “Rescue Dawn” to get a Supporting nod, though!
This movie is a Hollywood bio-pic so I’ll go out on limb and say it sucks.
I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100% regarding , but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong