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Radio
Review by Mike Furches (Mike's bio)
Directed by Michael Tollin
Written by Mike Rich
Based on a magazine article by Gary Smith
Cuba Gooding Jr. . . . James Robert (Radio) Kennedy
Ed Harris . . . Coach Harold Jones
Debra Winger . . . Linda Jones
Alfre Woodard . . . Principal
Riley Smith . . . Johnny Clay
Sarah Drew . . . Mary Helen Jones
MPAA: Rated PG for mild language and thematic elements.
It seems as if every small town has a special interest in football. There is always the local individual who contributes to the team far more than people realize. Usually the world may see this person as being “disabled” or “handicapped” in some way. Most people haven't taken the time to touch a life or, more importantly, be touched by the life of an individual like this. It was upon seeing the first trailers for Radio that I was reminded of my own past—growing up in Tennessee, playing high school football, and falling in love with the sport and the lessons taught to us by an individual named Kent Masters, who helped with the team. Kent had a neuromuscular disorder that prevented him from playing the game. He wasn't what we called “retarded” in those days, now referred to as developmentally delayed, but his body didn't quite work right. Still, he found ways to help our team in more ways than playing on it. I'll never forget my experiences with Kent and the love he had for us. He loved the game but, more importantly, he loved us. In addition, we the players on our team, well, we learned to love Kent and felt that he gave us far more than we could ever give him in return.
Radio takes place in Anderson, South Carolina, a suburb of Greenville. While the movie makes Anderson out to be a small town, I lived in the Greenville area for some years and was all too familiar with the real Radio, James Robert Kennedy. He is somewhat of a legend to the local high school football programs, and it isn't unusual to hear the local sports celebrities and radio or television personalities talking about him on a Friday night pre-game or Friday night wrap-up show. Living in that area for so long, I know firsthand that Radio, as many like to call him, has been giving to the Greenville/Spartanburg areas of South Carolina for some time. It was this that also helped motivate me to see this movie. It wasn't the only thing, though.
As a former football player, I had just finished reading John Grisham's book Bleachers. It is a wonderful portrayal of high school football and the reflections of its athletes. My old school, Tabor College, is winning and has a chance to break my old team's record of most wins in a season. I had seen The Fighting Temptations with Cuba Gooding Jr. and knew that he had already made one tremendous movie this summer. From the trailers and the coincidences in my own life, how could I help but go to see Radio on its first night of release?
I had read the review on MSN earlier in the day, and, man, how it blasted this movie. I should know that I need to quit looking at critics; after all, what do they know? I decided to go see the movie myself and make my own opinions. Was I glad I did!
Radio is a triumph-of-the-spirit, clap-your-hands-and-celebrate-life kind of movie. There are so many moral lessons that can be learned from this movie, and the performers who portray them are wonderful. From Ed Harris, a native of Norman, Oklahoma, who certainly knows about football, to fellow Oklahoman from Tulsa, Alfre Woodard, we have a cast that is absolutely wonderful in the parts they play. I remember my old drama teacher telling us that in reality there are no small parts, only small actors. This movie helps make that point. So many wonderful characters represent southern living so well. It is wonderful to see life in the South portrayed in such an honest and realistic way.
The actors in Radio nail the parts that in certain situations only locals living in the Greenville/Spartanburg area might understand. For example, two scenes really hit home in the efforts to mirror the reality of this community. There is one scene where Radio has to be left behind on a bus trip from Anderson's Hanna High School to Wade Hampton High. While the public doesn't realize this, those two schools are only a few miles apart. In real life Radio had been walking farther to and from school than it would have taken to walk to Wade Hampton High; yet even for this short distance there was reluctance to allow athletes to associate with someone, well, you know, like Radio.
Another scene that paid attention to detail in the South is a scene at a local restaurant. You see Radio putting large amounts of sugar in his tea. Now I am from the South, and many can testify to this: we still make sweet tea at my home. That being said, I must state that the likelihood of being able to purchase unsweetened tea in the South at that time is about like getting bitten by a shark in Kansas. This scene only helped illustrate the nature and person of Radio; as sweet as he was, he just wasn't sweet enough. It also provides a comical moment for many in the South who know what I am speaking about.
There is so much that could be said about this movie from a spiritual perspective. The one thing that continually stuck out in my mind upon seeing the movie was the reference by Jesus that we must all become like little children if we are going to see the Kingdom of Heaven. Radio, despite being in a grown man's body, in many ways carries out the persona of a small child. In that child we see everything wonderful and loving that could possibly exist. We also see the horror of how children can be abused, misunderstood, and often times persuaded to do wrong. We see in Radio, though not necessarily the persona of a Christ figure, certainly the persona of what Jesus would in many ways have his followers be. Radio even lets us know in the movie that he loves going to church and singing songs about Jesus. He is not Jesus, just someone who loves him.
In Radio we see examples of unjust punishment and torment; we see the ability to forgive; we see one of the least of these teaching and touching all he comes into contact with. There is sometimes the perception when we read passages like Matthew 25:31-46 that we think our works are all about what we do for others. The reality is that while the need to help others might be a motivating force to get us started, what we often find out is that when we do things for others we in reality help ourselves out and get far more out of our efforts than we ever gave. Coach Harold Jones (played wonderfully by Ed Harris) is a wonderful example of that in this movie. The change brought about in this man because of his involvement with Radio is remarkable, a wonderful expression of what can come about in our own lives if we love others in the same way that he loved Radio. Don't get me wrong, it is not to say that love doesn't come at a cost. It is quite the opposite; it always costs something, but the rewards are so much greater than what we would ever lose.
Is this a perfect movie? The truth is, no, it is not, but I have to say this: Cuba Gooding Jr. is back! I don't care what MSN or any other old opinionated critic says. I have seen two movies with Cuba Gooding Jr. this summer, and I loved them both. From an acting perspective, I must say that I believe this is the best work he has ever done in any movie, including his Academy Award-winning performance in Jerry Maguire. When watching the end credits and seeing the real Radio in the closing scenes, you know how much Cuba nailed the performance. Not since Geoffrey Rush in the movie Shine has an actor nailed the persona of a real-life person as well as in this movie.
It has been a long time since I have gone to a movie where at the end the audience was applauding. Not in a long time have I heard the audience laughing the way they laughed, oohed the way they oohed, or aahed the way they aahed in this movie. If you are looking for a feel-good experience, see either of Cuba's recent releases; you won't go wrong. If looking for examples of how we can all become better and love those around us, then see either of Cuba's recent releases. If you do, you'll see messages of love, forgiveness, and redemption. Now how much more spiritual can you get than that?
On a scale of 1–10, for the number of empty seats in the large theater on this particular night, 9.
Copyright 2003, Mike Furches. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
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About Mike Furches: Mike is the senior pastor of United at the Cross Community Church in Wichita, Kansas. The church, located in the inner city of Wichita has a unique ministry to former gang members, drug addicts, prostitutes and others often neglected by the church. Mike also is involved in freelance writing and speaks nationally. Check out his web page for more information: http://www.furches.org/ E-mail Mike |
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