In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C., vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. It was the place and time for Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr. to fully express himself - sometimes to outrageous effect -- and "tell it like it is." With the support of his irrepressible and tempestuous girlfriend Vernell, the newly minted ex-con talks his way into an on-air radio gig. He forges a friendship and a partnership with fellow prison inmate Milo's brother Dewey Hughes. From the first wild morning on the air, Petey relies on the more straight-laced Dewey to run interference at WOL-AM, where Dewey is the program director. At the station, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing even the established popularity of his fellow disc jockeys, Nighthawk and Sunny Jim. Combining biting humor with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for station owner E.G. Sonderling. Petey was determined to make not just himself but his community heard during an exciting and turbulent period in American history. As Petey's voice, humor, and spirit surge across the airwaves with the vitality of the era, listeners tune in to hear not only incredible music but also a man speaking directly to them about race and power in America like few people ever have. Through the years, Petey's "The truth just is" style -- on- and off-air -- would redefine both Petey and Dewey, and empower each to become the man he would most like to be. - skip ad - Genres: Drama and Biopic Running Time: 1 hr. 58 min. Release Date: July 13th, 2007 (limited) MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language and some sexual content. Distributor: Focus Features Cast And Credits Starring: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji Henson, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps Directed by: Kasi Lemmons Produced by: Miles Dale, William Horberg, Bruce Toll

Again demonstrating why he's one of the most versatile actors around, Don Cheadle gives another prize-worthy performance as Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr., the irrepressible radio DJ whose keepin'-it-real style made him a trusted voice on the airwaves during the turbulent late '60s and early '70s.

While his fearlessly robust performance absolutely galvanizes "Talk to Me," it's not the only thing that makes Kasi Lemmons' third feature such a pleasure to take in. Similarly commanding performances by Chiwetel Ejiofor and "Hustle & Flow's" Taraji P. Henson, plus an energetic script by Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiwa, vividly bring this biopic to life.

Following its Los Angeles Film Festival kick-off, the Focus Features film will be opening in limited release July 13, but enthusiastic word-of-mouth could ensure that audiences will tune in right up to the start of awards season.

We first see Petey Greene spinning the Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke platters within the confines of Virginia's Lorton Prison, where he puts his "Ph.D. in poverty" to use telling it like it is to his fellow inmates.
It's there he meets the decidedly buttoned-down Dewey Hughes (the always intriguing Ejiofor), the program director for Washington, D.C.'s R&B station, WOL-AM, who's visiting his estranged, incarcerated brother (Mike Epps).

Pestering Hughes for an on-air job when he gets out of the can, Petey and his bubbly, take-no-prisoners girlfriend (a terrific Henson) make good on their threat to show up at his decidedly corporate station one day, refusing to take no for an answer.

Eventually wearing Hughes down enough to give him a shot behind the mike, Petey and his plain-speaking style instantly light up the phone lines at the station, where WOL owner E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen), knowing a ratings-booster when he sees one, hands Greene the coveted morning shift.

But Petey proves to be more than just a colorful radio personality. In the aftermath of the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination he was the calming voice of reason for legions of listeners seeking immediate justice.

Looking to tap into his potential, Hughes becomes his manager, landing Petey his own TV show as well as stand-up gigs leading to an ill-fated appearance on "The Tonight Show."

Petey's subsequent downward spiral is a trajectory well-traveled by the biopic, and although it robs the film of that spirited comic zip found in the picture's first half, director Lemmons orchestrates the tonal shift with a refreshingly minimal amount of purposefulness, working from an effervescent script by Genet (whose father was Dewey Hughes) and Famuyiwa ("The Wood").

In addition to mining exceptional performances from Cheadle, Ejiofor and Henson, who creates another indelible performance here, Lemmons does well by bright turns from Sheen, Cedric the Entertainer and real-life husband Vondie Curtis Hall, the latter two planning a pair of WOR on-air personalities.

Also keeping it real are those rich period touches contributed by production designer Warren Alan Young and costume designer Gersha Phillips, whose fabulous creations for Henson appear to have come directly from the blaxploitation attic.

Completing the desired effect is Terence Blanchard's mood-altering, jazzy score and a Top 40s worth of golden soul oldies, highlighted by Cooke's ever-poignant "A Change Is Gonna Come."