Radio (2003)

hyped garbage

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This'll be my first review written here, previously I've reviewed games both on my own website as well as writing freelance articles. Though seeing as how it's 8 AM and I haven't gone to bed yet (plus me being Swedish) expect some possible spelling errors and so forth.Either way, in all honesty this movie deserves a far better rating than what it has received here on IMDb. Not to mention that some of the reviews that have been written here giving "Radio" a low score are outright hateful for no good reason. There is literally someone who basically says "this is for those who said I only give 10/10 ratings". So, by saying that, you mean that you only rated this movie poorly to "prove a point"? (Worth mentioning that the same person gave the absolutely shittastic movie "Hulk" from 2003 a 10/10)Whatever, moving on from the negativity! Really unsure of where to start with this film. It might not be this inspiring "we shall overcome!" movie, it might not be "Forrest Gump" but honestly it isn't that type of story and that's what I like about this movie.I love "Forrest Gump" don't get me wrong, but the reason they're able to do a lot of the things that they do in it is because it isn't based or in any way grounded in reality. Where as "Radio" tells the actual story, of an actual person who at the time of the release was still alive and kicking.To be completely frank I am very glad that this film doesn't even try to be like "Forrest Gump" because if they did it'd be so much worse. Imitation movies usually are (those that try to surf on the success of another film).This story is about a mentally challenged individual, living in a small town in a semi-rural area of the United States during the 70's. It doesn't involve a whole town or say the world accepting this person or like... "oh he taught us to accept handicapped people" revelation. There is no need for it since more than anything the movie simply addresses that those who suffer from whatever handicap are people like anyone else and should be treated as such.They don't make it into this HUGE thing, it's a slow process, I mean even towards the end of the film some people are still not accepting of this mentally challenged individual.What I am trying to say is that it's grounded in reality and it works in its favor. The acting is very well done for the most part (gotta love Ed Harris, he makes almost any movie watchable), the soundtrack is good, the cinematography is rather great and believe it or not the comedy that's in this movie hits home for me. It's subtle, but it's there.Again, this isn't a movie where a town or something dislikes this handicapped person and then this one other person is nice to him and then at the end they're all super happy and hug and go "I can't believe I didn't accept you before but I totally do now". Once again, it works completely in its favor.It's a small town, one person finally doing the right thing in little steps, not everyone suddenly accepts the main character in the story and it isn't sappy.Even being a "strong burly man" I can admit to having cried to this movie all three times that I've seen it and I highly recommend it.In the words of Roger Ebert: "There is no cynicism in Radio, no angle or edge. It's about what it's about, with an open, warm and fond nature. Every once in a while human nature expresses itself in a way we can feel good about, and this is one of those times."

The movie is based on a true story. The job of the actor Cuba was wonderful, he interpreted the character extremely well. The movie is very emotional and shows us that most people have prejudice, and when someone wants to act differently, even with good intentions, usually they need to win a battle against society. Sometimes, people need more understanding, attention, and someone to trust in order to improve themselves. Usually, people don't care about others and don't want to waste time on them. The actor Ed Harris was pretty good in the movie too. This movie is not the best, but it's a very emotional and beautiful movie, a beautiful lesson. Worth watching!

So here's the deal: Radio is a great movie. The true story of Radio illustrates how a mentally handicapped man transforms from being an outcast to the inspiration of the cities football team. Now most people won't take my word for it since the only thing you know about me is my internet name on IMDb. Now Shakespeare might disagree, but I understand, I wouldn't trust anyone on just their name, because "what's in a name?" So give me a chance and I will prove to you why Radio is a great movie.There are several aspects of the movie that obviously stand out to any audience and one of those is acting. Some people might not know that Cuba Gooding Jr. does not have autism, without outside knowledge it would be impossible to tell. In fact he is a perfectly normal, playing other roles in movies like Pearl Harbor and Red Tails. It is important that this be made clear to truly grasp the acting abilities of Cuba Gooding Jr. Mainly due to his incredible acting, Radio's true story was perfectly conveyed. Ed Harris, who played Coach Jones, also gave a spectacular performance, adapting to Radio's changing character. Throughout the progression of the movie, both of these characters relate and portray a building relationship, making it an extremely realistic cinema. One of the next features that make this movie great is the directing skills Michael Tolin brought to the table. Now you probably haven't heard of him mostly because this movie was one his only big hits. But let's overlook that for now and focus on what it takes to make a great director. I believe in the case of a true story, a great director's job is to be like a chef. He is to combine an adequate mixture of true events and sprinkle in parts that are simply for the audience's entertainment. Since the story has already happened the director cannot change that part of the recipe, leaving the entertainment for him to create. Now this is not necessarily an easy job, take the simple, super-short plot of Radio as an example: The story of how a mentally retarded man journey's from complete isolation to being the main focus of an entire town. My goal for this statement is not to offend anyone but to simply establish that without the 'splash of entertainment' this plot would not make for a good movie. Therefore, I say all of this to ascertain that Michael Tolin came through, pulling a delicious pastry from the oven. He created a blend of touching emotions and 'manly' football, great for all types of audiences. Now some might say that this movie is predictable or not even realistic. Well unless you have a glass ball and consider yourself a psychic then there is no way to predict the movie. I will agree that at a first glance Radio may seem cliché, and I can see how you would think that since it is based on football (and most football movies are almost all the same). But Radio is different, it includes a great story and plot that takes place off the football field and therefore as a whole the movie is extremely original. To the people that might claim that Radio is not realistic, the last scene of the movie explained clearly it was a true story. So I don't know how much more realistic a movie can be than a true story. I give this movie ten stars and I hope that you agree with my thoughts that Radio is in fact a great movie, and who knows, maybe Shakespeare was wrong all along.

I started watching this at school a few years ago; our teacher wanted us to understand that everyone was different and there are some people out there who have disabilities. During the beginning of the movie, when I saw Radio riding in a shopping cart looking silly, I remained silent, the remainder of the class began chuckling. As the movie progresses, I had feelings for Radio, he's an innocent man, though not many appreciate him. I loved how Coach Jones was so fatherly to him, and would do whatever he could to make him feel better.This is one of few movies I have seen that have made me start crying. As we found that Radio's mother had tragically died from a heart attack and was gone, I started tearing up. I could feel the pain in Gooding's character as he suffered this terrible thing that has almost destroyed his life.This was a gorgeous movie and helps both young and old to understand and care about those with disabilities.To this day, I continue to fight those with disabilities, this teaches such an important lesson.10/10