Radio (2003)

Beautiful, moving film.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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.

In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey tells Ben Stiller that he went full retard for a film role and you must never go full retard.Maybe advice Cuba Gooding Jr should have heeded as he plays a young mentally challenged black man in a South Carolina small town in the mid 1970s, who spends his days pushing a shopping trolley, being fascinated by radios and comes on the radar of High School Sports Coach Jones who spends time with him and gets him to help out at the school and not be an outsider being ignored. He gets adopted as the school's mascot and gains acceptance after some initial resistance from a few of the students.Radio is based on the true story of Robert 'Radio' Kennedy. Its a formulaic film but has winning performances from Ed Harris, Alfre Woodard and Debra Winger. Cuba's performance divided opinions, although he is an Oscar winning actor, he seemed to be too immersed in the role without giving any other light or shade. Gooding has been criticised for some of his broad comedy films in the past and maybe this was an attempt to address this criticism and re-establish his serious acting credentials.The film is sentimental and maybe too saccharine and does lack depth as well but you cannot deny it is heartwarming.

Radio was a movie I had heard mixed things about, but because I'm such a huge fan of Cuba Gooding, I of course checked it out. I adore Ed Harris so watching him and Cuba act alongside each other was a treat to watch. Radio I suppose is a predictable piece of sentimentality, but the way it's done is wonderful. I have worked with people who are mentally challenged and ever since then, I have grown to understand and deal with them with patience, so while I was watching the story unfold, I couldn't help but feel emotion for Radio. I really don't understand how Cuba Gooding earned a razzy for his performance here, I felt it was Oscar worthy!. I really feel Radio is a nice feel-good story of a kid that's mentally challenged being accepted by the society that he is living in, and becoming a legend in his own right. Maybe people won't love it as much as I did, but if you've worked with these kinds of kids perhaps you'd understand why I got into this as much as I did.Performances. Cuba Gooding gives yet again a fantastic performance. This should have revived his career, but instead he's doing many crappy DTV movies now, which is very sad with a man of his caliber of talent. He feels mentally challenged, looks mentally challenged, it really was a phenomenal performance. Ed Harris is just as good. His character isn't as hard to play, but he has a lot of heart and his character was just as important.Bottom line. Radio is a great piece of sentimentality, and it's bound to jerk a few tears or two, see it.9/10

Radio is among one of my favourites from Cuba Gooding Jr. Radio is a truly touching, motivating and inspirational true-story, lead by a underrated performance by Cuba Gooding Jr. Many people claim Cuba's character roll execution as 'way over done' or 'just, plain, stupid.' Sorry I disagree. Cuba had to act as one character who is still alive today, who is also classified as a little 'slow'. He had to put on a accurate, un-offending performance in order to make this movie go well. In my eyes he did a fine job and the supporting actors did as well. The movie has a little bit of everything; comedy, drama and a feel-good appreciated ending.