Radio
Y
Oct 13, 2003
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Radio."
"Radio," a sentimental account of a mentally impaired young man and the small town that learns to embrace him, is dominated by earnest performances from Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr. The major drawback is that the film is too determined to be "uplifting" and "heartwarming." Its makers calculate every dramatic move and, taking no chances, crank up James Horner's gushy music at key moments. But the cast, which includes Alfre Woodard and Debra Winger, manages to give thoughtful performances that salvage the film's integrity.
"Radio" could post decent boxoffice numbers during its first week in theaters, but the story and filmmaking style fit more comfortably on a small screen, which may mean the film will find its audience in cable and DVD.
The story of James Robert Kennedy, nicknamed Radio because of his love for music and collection of radios, came to light in a Sports Illustrated article by Gary Smith in 1996. For more than 40 years, the mentally disabled man has been a fixture at all high school football games in Anderson, S.C. A series of coaches and student athletes have made Radio a part of the team. He helps out in practices and on the sidelines during games and is the team's foremost cheerleader. Radio thus has become a symbol of how respect and friendship can turn a sad story into a positive one.
To tell his story, director/co-producer Mike Tollin has asked screenwriter Mike Rich ("Finding Forrester") to create a fictional three-act structure, covering a mere year, that explores the relationship between Radio (Gooding) and just one of these coaches (Harris). Rich supplies a pair of villains -- albeit mild ones -- and images of rising tensions within the community over the presence of a mentally disabled youth in the school.
As real as the two characters are, the story always feels false. We are asked to accept a coach who, in the middle of football season, suddenly devotes most of his time and energy to this one young man. He drives him home, has heart-to-heart chats with his hard-working mom (S. Epatha Merkerson) and takes him for meals at the coffee shop instead of tending to his team and family. We are then asked to believe all misfortune suffered by the team gets blamed on Radio by the town's leading citizen, a banker (Chris Mulkey), and his quarterback son (Riley Smith).
That Radio's presence on the sideline is a "distraction" that somehow prevents the quarterback from realizing his potential is a stretch at best. Nevertheless, the movie has the whole town buzzing over Radio: The school board is breathing down the neck of its principal (Woodard) about the young man, while the coach's wife (Winger) complains to her husband that he fails to spend that kind of quality time with their daughter (newcomer Sarah Drew).
What we do believe in this movie is a very credible relationship between Radio and Coach Jones. Outfitted with a set of truly horrible false teeth, Gooding moves in a crab-like manner and speaks in rhythmic spurts to suggest Radio's inner struggles. This is the most successful Gooding has ever been in moving away from his own buoyant personality to play a radically different character.
Harris works well with Gooding, insistently probing, praising and cajoling the spirited little boy within the nearly grown man into the open. The workaholic coach's obsession with Radio becomes an extension of his obsession with his team. Never one to doubt his own actions, even when things don't turn out well, Harris' Coach Jones is a man who believes in projects and Radio becomes his No. 1.
Woodard and Winger give backbone to roles that normally remain on the periphery of male-dominated stories. Their complaints are grounded in logic, and the actors make their points with clarity and conviction.
Tollin's portrait of Southern small-town life during football season is well done, especially the coach's postgame appearances at the barbershop, which turn into confabs in which parents and supporters get to question the coach's strategy and gain insights into next week's game plan. Technical credits are solid especially Don Burgess' cinematography and Clay A. Griffith's design, which nicely evoke the story's rural setting.
RADIO
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presentsa Tollin/Robbins production
Credits: Director: Michael Tollin
Screenwriter: Mike Rich
Producers: Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin, Herbert W. Gains
Executive producers: Todd Garner, Caitlin Scanlon
Director of photography: Don Burgess
Production designer: Clay A. Griffith
Music: James Horner
Costume designer: Denise Wingate
Editors: Chris Lebenzon, Harvey Rosenstock
Cast:
James Robert "Radio" Kennedy: Cuba Gooding Jr.
Coach Harold Jones: Ed Harris
Principal Daniels: Alfre Woodard
Maggie: S. Epatha Merkerson
Linda: Debra Winger
Johnny: Riley Smith
Mary Helen Jones: Sarah Drew
Frank: Chris Mulkey
Running time -- 109 minutes
MPAA rating: PG
"Radio," a sentimental account of a mentally impaired young man and the small town that learns to embrace him, is dominated by earnest performances from Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr. The major drawback is that the film is too determined to be "uplifting" and "heartwarming." Its makers calculate every dramatic move and, taking no chances, crank up James Horner's gushy music at key moments. But the cast, which includes Alfre Woodard and Debra Winger, manages to give thoughtful performances that salvage the film's integrity.
"Radio" could post decent boxoffice numbers during its first week in theaters, but the story and filmmaking style fit more comfortably on a small screen, which may mean the film will find its audience in cable and DVD.
The story of James Robert Kennedy, nicknamed Radio because of his love for music and collection of radios, came to light in a Sports Illustrated article by Gary Smith in 1996. For more than 40 years, the mentally disabled man has been a fixture at all high school football games in Anderson, S.C. A series of coaches and student athletes have made Radio a part of the team. He helps out in practices and on the sidelines during games and is the team's foremost cheerleader. Radio thus has become a symbol of how respect and friendship can turn a sad story into a positive one.
To tell his story, director/co-producer Mike Tollin has asked screenwriter Mike Rich ("Finding Forrester") to create a fictional three-act structure, covering a mere year, that explores the relationship between Radio (Gooding) and just one of these coaches (Harris). Rich supplies a pair of villains -- albeit mild ones -- and images of rising tensions within the community over the presence of a mentally disabled youth in the school.
As real as the two characters are, the story always feels false. We are asked to accept a coach who, in the middle of football season, suddenly devotes most of his time and energy to this one young man. He drives him home, has heart-to-heart chats with his hard-working mom (S. Epatha Merkerson) and takes him for meals at the coffee shop instead of tending to his team and family. We are then asked to believe all misfortune suffered by the team gets blamed on Radio by the town's leading citizen, a banker (Chris Mulkey), and his quarterback son (Riley Smith).
That Radio's presence on the sideline is a "distraction" that somehow prevents the quarterback from realizing his potential is a stretch at best. Nevertheless, the movie has the whole town buzzing over Radio: The school board is breathing down the neck of its principal (Woodard) about the young man, while the coach's wife (Winger) complains to her husband that he fails to spend that kind of quality time with their daughter (newcomer Sarah Drew).
What we do believe in this movie is a very credible relationship between Radio and Coach Jones. Outfitted with a set of truly horrible false teeth, Gooding moves in a crab-like manner and speaks in rhythmic spurts to suggest Radio's inner struggles. This is the most successful Gooding has ever been in moving away from his own buoyant personality to play a radically different character.
Harris works well with Gooding, insistently probing, praising and cajoling the spirited little boy within the nearly grown man into the open. The workaholic coach's obsession with Radio becomes an extension of his obsession with his team. Never one to doubt his own actions, even when things don't turn out well, Harris' Coach Jones is a man who believes in projects and Radio becomes his No. 1.
Woodard and Winger give backbone to roles that normally remain on the periphery of male-dominated stories. Their complaints are grounded in logic, and the actors make their points with clarity and conviction.
Tollin's portrait of Southern small-town life during football season is well done, especially the coach's postgame appearances at the barbershop, which turn into confabs in which parents and supporters get to question the coach's strategy and gain insights into next week's game plan. Technical credits are solid especially Don Burgess' cinematography and Clay A. Griffith's design, which nicely evoke the story's rural setting.
RADIO
Columbia Pictures
Revolution Studios presentsa Tollin/Robbins production
Credits: Director: Michael Tollin
Screenwriter: Mike Rich
Producers: Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin, Herbert W. Gains
Executive producers: Todd Garner, Caitlin Scanlon
Director of photography: Don Burgess
Production designer: Clay A. Griffith
Music: James Horner
Costume designer: Denise Wingate
Editors: Chris Lebenzon, Harvey Rosenstock
Cast:
James Robert "Radio" Kennedy: Cuba Gooding Jr.
Coach Harold Jones: Ed Harris
Principal Daniels: Alfre Woodard
Maggie: S. Epatha Merkerson
Linda: Debra Winger
Johnny: Riley Smith
Mary Helen Jones: Sarah Drew
Frank: Chris Mulkey
Running time -- 109 minutes
MPAA rating: PG
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