You won't be disappointed!

Simply A Masterpiece

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Yes yes, it's apparently a true story & all that, but how much cinema saccharine can you take at once? But for two spoons of predictability you have to swallow here, it may be the best ensemble acting cast I've ever seen. Mr Harris is terrific. Mss. Winger, Woodard, Merkerson, all do what they do and make it believable. I was curious if Mr Gooding was encouraged to take it up or down a notch, but in the end, maybe it was enough. Ignore the plot, watch the actor's technique here. Superb.

I had to watch this movie in class. As movies I've been forced to watch in class, this is one of the better ones. Everything in this movie is done extremely well. The acting is good as well as the cinematography and plot progression. This movie is worth watching. That being said, there are some annoying scenes (like the one where a radio is playing perfectly even though its sitting in a pile of mud during a rainstorm). Overall though, I enjoyed this movie.

It's 1976 in Anderson, South Carolina. Harold Jones (Ed Harris) is the high school football coach. His wife Linda (Debra Winger) thinks he's not paying enough attention to their daughter (Sarah Drew). James 'Radio' (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is a mentally handicapped man who pushes a shopping cart around town. After taking one of the team's football, the star ballplayer and his friends tie him up and terrorize him. Coach takes Radio under his wing. It's not always easy as the team doesn't live up to expectations.There are different ways to criticize Cuba's performance. It could be seen as a showy thing meant for the awards season. Cuba could be dismissed as unable to do more with the character. I think he does a fine job. It's definitely not award winning but at least he's pushing his acting range.The major problem for me is the concentration on the coach and Radio. It needs to have a POV from someone else. There are a couple of possibilities. Johnny Clay would be an interesting choice especially with his father Frank. He's set up for a redemption storyline. The side characters need more time. The story is too simplistic when there is easy drama underneath the story. A more fleshed out story for the teenagers would be much more compelling. It shows when the daughter is able to pull the deepest emotions from the story.

This is the kind of low-budget film that truly proves that a small story can be much more meaningful than a larger one. Radio is the story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man whom he takes under his wing. This film is worthy of all the hopes you have. All of the fancy characters struggle against a system that has perpetuated falsehoods. The plot is not as well thought out as the original, but it still does the cast well. It's an important film. Great performances help to enhance this amazing story of friendship, but the real centerpiece of the film is its acting. It's fun watching it.