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BY MAGGIE SCOTT

An ex-con shakes up the airwaves of Washington, D.C. on the edge of social movement unrest in the summer of ’66, and the world of radio will never be the same. Don Cheadle gives a dazzling performance as deejay Petey Greene in the true-life story, “Talk To Me,” from director Kasi Lemmons.

Petey hones his profane motor mouth in a prison broadcast booth, where he tells it like it is for new and old perps, alike: “Ain’t no way through it but to do it.” Full of himself, he horns in on the life of WOL-AM program director Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who runs into Petey after another “I promised mamma” visit with his convict brother. Petey and Dewey size each other up: an uptight brother v.s. a “miscreant.”

Petey vows he’ll look Dewey up when he gets out (which he finagles in classic Greene style) ‘cause Petey considers himself “the greatest.” As luck would have it, Dewey has been asked by the station owner (Martin Sheen) to do something about the fact that WOL has been losing ground to other stations, despite the fact that it has such broadcast celebrities as “The Hawk” (Cedric), whose late-night voice puts all the ladies in the mood.

At first, hiring Petey seems like a preposterous notion; and Dewey wants to make sure he’s got the upper hand with Petey. But, Dewey knows that the business of radio is changing. He also knows that D.C. is “not a respectable town.”

People want radio to tell it like it is; want stories told in their language. Petey knows how to tell those stories. How to look and act the part of a legit deejay is another matter. He’s a little slow out of the starting block; gets nauseated and speechless the first time the on-air light goes on; can’t quite clean up the language; invites an FCC lawsuit when he insults Barry Gordy on air.

But, eventually the “prophet of the streets” speaks, and, the people show they’re listening: the phone lines get jammed with calls of support, of agreement, of encouragement. Calming the rioting streets after the King assassination is one of Petey’s finest hours.

Success goes to Dewey’s head. He tells Petey he could be great at anything from stand-up to acting to hosting a TV show. Dewey believes if Petey “keeps it real” there are no heights he can’t reach. What he doesn’t understand is that Petey is “just a regular guy from D.C.” and he just might crash and burn.

Last part of film can’t match the verbal brilliance of the opening scenes of Petey selling himself to Dewey and making the case for what WOL needs, with his insistence that talking is the “only thing that “I’m good at that don’t involve breaking the law.” You’ll listen and you’ll laugh like you haven’t in a long time.

A Focus Features production rated R for strong profanity and sexual content.
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