Radio

Cuba Gooding JR is great as James Robert Kennedy, aka Radio, the mentally challenged young man who becomes involved with the town's football team and its coach, Harold Jones. Jones is played by Ed Harris in a very good role for him as the thoughtful coach who is suffering through family problems of his own. The relationship between Radio and Jones is the most important in the movie and easily the very best. Some scenes are truly touching as the two men interact with each other. The film also stars Alfre Woodward as the school principal, Debra Winger as Jones' wife, and several other familiar faces who all turn in good roles. Radio is a very good movie that benefits greatly from the impressive performances turned in by its two main stars. This is a movie that may make you cry several times, but it is very enjoyable and well worth a watch. Go check out Radio!


Radio - A touching true story!   January 31, 2004
K. Wyatt (St. Louis, MO United States)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful

What do you get when you mix a superior script derived from a true story; the exceptional acting talents of Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger and a whole host of outstanding supporting actors; you get "Radio," which is an exceptionally touching true story! Somehow I completely missed this one when it was in the theaters which is regrettable however, a good friend put me on to this movie and I'm enormously grateful as I found this movie to be absorbing, touching and heart warming as I'm sure you will as well!

For several years now, for me, any movie with Ed Harris in it has been one to watch as he is an extremely talented actor that conveys his characters emotions very well, engendering you to his performance. The same can be said of Cuba Gooding Jr. as well, he has done very few movies that I could say I didn't care for. As a general rule and one that applies to this movie in the fullest, when Cuba Gooding Jr. takes a role, he turns it into an Oscar caliber performance and that can truly be said of his performance in this wonderful film. I would also definitely have to say that it was nice to see Debra Winger in this film as the last movie I can recall seeing her in was "An Officer and a Gentleman," which is too bad as she is an exceptional actress! Last but not least is the performance by Alfre Woodard, and actress that I first saw in "Star Trek First Contact" and since that time I would definitely have to say that anytime I see her on screen it's time to watch what she's doing.

As of this movies release, "Radio" is only director Michael Tollin's second effort but it is quite easy to see with this beautiful film that he should have a long future in the director's seat.

The Premise:

Welcome to small town America in South Carolina in the early seventies where we have high school football coach, Coach Jones (Ed Harris) who is one of the states top high school football coaches. During a practice session early in the season he notices a young man whom he later nick names "Radio" (Cuba Gooding Jr.), watching the football practice. A few days later he finds that several of his football players are harassing this mentally challenged young man and before long he ends up taking him under his wings. It doesn't take long for the dramatic conflict to surface as several people begin to question the coaches interests in helping this young man and one of the most influential boosters believes that Radio is a distraction to the team as a whole and starts taking steps to interfere...

What follows from there is one of the most touching true stories that I've ever had the privilege of watching and I'm sure that if you're even remotely interested in these types of films you'll find it extraordinarily touching as well. I highly recommend this film to any and all who are interested in seeing a film that is, at its very core, one those films that makes you remember why you enjoy watching films so much. {ssintrepid}


Moving and Inspiring Drama   January 27, 2004
Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

High school football coach Harold Jones (Ed Harris) is getting ready for what should be a top season for his team. When he finds a few of his players harassing a mentally challenged young man after practice one day, he steps in and even finds a few things that "Radio" (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) can do to help the team. This outreach doesn't sit well with everyone in town who worry about having a mentally challenged person so close to their kids. Coach Jones, however, fights for Radio's ability to stay involved in sports and even begin a job at the high school. Slowly, their bond of friendship grows. But will they ever overcome other's prejudice?

When I first heard about this movie, I was ready to give it a pass. Seemed like movies I'd seen before. After my mom raved about it, I gave it a second chance and went to see it. Am I ever glad I did.

The performances from the two leads are amazing. They are given lots of material to work through, and both handle it well. This is especially true of Cuba Gooding, Jr., who makes the mentally challenged title character come to life in a believable and sympathetic way. The story is uplifting, not depressing like I had first feared. Based on a true story, it is even more inspiring to see the two real people at the end. It really challenged me to look at those around me for people who might need my help.

Anyone looking for a movie that will encourage and inspire them will love this film. It's a great film with truly memorable characters (who happen to be real) and wonderful performances.


Unable to find it's correct frequency...   October 2, 2003
15 out of 24 found this review helpful

Okay, here's a timeline for you. I heard that Cuba Gooding Jr. was involved in a movie about a mentally handicapped man who inspired a town through his courage and spirit. Not interested. Then I heard that Ed Harris was involved and I began to care a little more. Then Debra Winger and Alfre Woodard were added to the cast list and I started perking up a bit. Then I saw the trailer for the film and it left me with a small (but present) lump in my throat for whatever reason (call me just a little too excited to sit through Seabiscut which is where I first saw the preview). Then I catch "The Fighting Temptations" and see that Cuba is back on track in turning in a fun and inspired performance leaving roles in "Snow Dogs" and "Boat Trip" far behind.

So when I had the opportunity to catch a sneak preview of "Radio" the other night I jumped at it. Finally a movie that I had been interested in seeing I get to take in before reading other advance reviews and predictions. Call me a big stick in the mud but I found the movie to be a quickly made weepie that totally panders to the audience in its attempts at yanking at our heartstrings. Not nearly as manipulative as the deplorable "Pay it Forward" the movie does have many moments of pathos that had me rolling my eyes.

Playing someone with a handicap is tricky business. It takes a certain type of actor to pull this off and, I'm sad to report, Cuba is not the man for the job. Remember Dustin Hoffman's performance in "Rain Man"? I believe that to be the performance others have to measure up to. Hoffman created a real, flesh and blood person that made you forget it was Dustin Hoffman playing the role. Cuba the person is present through his entire performance. It seems like he watched a few videos of handicapped people and just sort of made the rest up as he went along. There are some moments that had people snickering (not me) in the audience because his handicap is so over-the-top that it borders on parody.

That said, I just found the movie to be so...ordinary. Much like "Men of Honor" with Cuba, there was just nothing special about the film. This could have been an ABC Sunday Night movie and been better received. None of the performances leap off the screen...they all just sort of sit there and go through the motions.

Ed Harris does turn in a solid performance as always and I felt bad for him because maybe his agent sat him down and said, "Okay, we tried the terminal illness performance and the crazed artist performance. How about if we take this role of a white man helping a severely handicapped black man. That will surely get you an Oscar". I hope Joe Roth from Revolution Studios paid for Debra Winger's phone bill since she clearly is phoning in her performance...she's better than this and she (and we) know it. Alfre Woodard is wasted in what is basically a handful of scenes that she shot with Ed Harris in the hallways at school. It's like they had her for two days and just kept changing her blouse to mark the difference between scenes.

Another problem with the movie is that there is no main antagonist. All the people represented as mean in the film are those that can't see Radio for the inspiring person he is. It's only when Ed Harris stops and tells them "Be nice to Radio" that the characters do a 180 degree turn and are like..."Oh yeah, you're right!" I can count at least 2 or 3 instances in the movie where this happens.

Like I said...the more is so normal and un-special that it only makes you feel bad when you don't get all weepy when bad things happen to Radio or when the townspeople finally realize how special this guy is.

What did I like about the film? The pacing was different than I thought it would be. It doesn't focus just on the football season but goes into the basketball one as well. For a movie set in the 70's they really dulled it down a lot. There were lots of period costumes and sets that were sort of a nice distraction (bonus points if you can count all 10 HUGE Afro wigs they put on several characters).

So at the end of the film is the only time that lump in my throat came back a little. When the film skips ahead to the present and we see the real people the movie is based on...that's when you see the reality of the story. It's too bad that the best part of the movie is the one not featuring the actors we've been watching for the previous 100 minutes. The movie ends up being another wasted vehicle for Cuba Gooding Jr. who still has yet to show any validity as to why he won the Oscar and another strong performance of Ed Harris that gets lost in a sub-par movie.


Good Premise - Poor Movie   October 29, 2003
dakotamoviefan (South Dakota)
7 out of 16 found this review helpful

Radio, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris, is the true story of a disabled South Carolina man (James "Radio" Kennedy) who was befriended by a football coach, school, and local community. The intentions behind the creation of Radio are good, but unfortunately the movie never fully explains, nor develops, the background of the central character enough to make us understand why there was such a sudden and overwhelming urge for other characters in the film to help him. The producers, writers, and directors of Radio could have told a story similar to that of Forrest Gump, but Radio does not even come slightly close to the 1994 best picture winner. Instead of developing the same type of solid characters, quality story, and authentic emotion that Forrest Gump did, Radio becomes wildly sentimental and far too maudlin. Its simplistic, child-like plot almost makes you think that Captain Kangaroo was the writer and Mr. Rogers the director. Radio has a noble concept and a good premise, but those two elements alone do not make it a good movie.