"RADIO" Movie Review
#147;Know Before You Go#148; reg;
Film/Video Reviews from a Family Perspective
THEATRICAL RELEASE
Radio, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ed Harris, Alfre Woodard, Debra Winger. Sony Pictures. Drama.
I can#146;t remember having more fun, while at the same time being so encouraged and so uplifted by a movie. Smartly written, reflective in its style, and surprisingly witty, #147;Radio#148; reminds us cinephiles of why we keep going to movies #150; because select ones make us feel good. And although many of my secular colleagues in criticism tend to enjoy movies that dwell upon the darker side of the human experience, this is one reviewer delighted whenever a film features positive messages, characters who acknowledge a place for God in their lives, and lighthearted moments not depended on crudity.
Mike Rich, author of #147;The Rookie,#148; tells the true story of a mentoring relationship between a high school football coach (Harris) and Radio (Gooding), an illiterate, mentally challenged man who helped transform a small South Carolina town. Although their friendship raised some non-approving eyebrows at first, Radio's growth under the coach's guidance ultimately inspired both the local townsfolk and their beloved football team.
Never once do you feel lectured, yet the storyline is jam packed with observations and life lessons that inspire and nurture. For example, when we discover the coach#146;s motive for helping this young man, we are reminded, as with #147;The Emperor#146;s Club,#148; that a man#146;s character isn#146;t defined by one wrong past deed. Rather, the parable clearly states that character is developed over a lifetime. And when Radio covers for a teen who has done him wrong, the moment exemplifies the biblical principal, love one another.
Every so often a film#146;s #147;special effects#148; are found in the writing and performing. Such is the case here. What#146;s more, the writer has dramatized powerful themes such as forgiving others who have mistreated you, giving out of your need, self sacrifice, making churchgoing a part of your life, learning from your mistakes, and loving your enemy.
Youth group leaders may be a bit nervous about a scene that contains an objectionable phrase repeated several times by both leads, but even that scene teaches a lesson (read the content below).
Director Mike Tollin (#147;Summer Catch,#148; #147;Hardwood Dreams#148;) captures small town America#146;s love affair with sports, but also energizes his story with ideas and feelings. He keeps the action tight, blending in moral structure without a moment of maudlin preachiness. It is not a film designed to proselytize, but like #147;A Walk To Remember#148; and #147;The Fighting Temptations,#148; it features people whose faith is an understood part of their daily life.
The leads are outstanding. Ed Harris proves again that he is one of the best actors in Tinseltown. Once more, he gives a striking, completely honest performance as Coach Jones, full of subtle emotions expressed with a mere glance or the simplest of dialogue. And Mr. Gooding is never cartoonish or false in his delivery. Like Tom Hanks with Forrest Gump, Gooding understands the responsibility of portraying challenged people with dignity and truth.
#147;Radio#148; is often funny, repeatedly inspiring, and always, always entertaining. This one will make my Top 10 favorites of the year.
PG (There are 10 minor expletives and at one point the coach, angered at a bad call, uses the expression #147;chicken s----#147; several times. Radio, feeling the coach#146;s frustration, repeats the phrase over and over. The scene becomes humorous, but it also teaches a lesson; the things we say and do are going to affect those around us. There#146;s no violence to speak of, other than the football team brutalizing Radio early on by locking him in a shed and taunting him. There are no scenes of a sexual nature. And there is no misuse of God#146;s name).
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