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Talk to Me
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    91
    A rowdy, richly offbeat biopic.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    Someone like Petey Greene made a difference and made a mark, and broadcasting is better because of his transparent honesty. He helped transform African-American stations more, probably, than their mostly white owners desired. And talk talents like Howard Stern, whether they know who he was, owe him something.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    88
    Talk to Me has a great subject and a great actor working in tandem, reminding audiences that once upon a time media personalities used to fight The Man, not be The Man.
  4. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    88
    As Greene, Don Cheadle - explosive because you've never before seen this model of actorly restraint - is a one-man fireworks show in Talk to Me, Kasi Lemmons' rollicking, resonant portrait of the real-life ex-con who improbably became a civic icon.
  5. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    88
    No matter what character Don Cheadle has played in his 23-year career, he's always seemed to be holding something back...Until Talk to Me.
  6. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    83
    Once Greene achieves fame, neither he nor the screenplay quite knows what to do; the first half-hour of Talk to Me is the most fun. But a vibrant feel for its era and a genuine affection for its characters make the whole thing a solid evocation of a time and a life worth remembering.
  7. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Gianni Truzzi
    83
    Hughes' push for Greene to succeed confronts the nettlesome issues of racial identity that most films vigorously avoid. The worthiness of Talk to Me will be proved if it gets us talking to each other.
  8. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    83
    Kasi Lemmons' movie is called Talk to Me, but what it really does is sing to you, in the argot and cadences of soul, jazz, rock and rhythm and blues.
  9. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    80
    While Cheadle's 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.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    80
    The result is a movie that offers uplift without phoniness, history without undue didacticism and a fair number of funny, dirty jokes.
  11. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    80
    A vital entertainment that struts confidently between comedy and drama.
  12. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    80
    Eventually you may come to think of Talk to Me as a true movie rarity -- a very honest yet curiously affecting experience.
  13. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    75
    Talk to Me is a welcome reminder of a time when radio truly listened to the people instead of just shouted at them.
  14. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    75
    Cheadle and Ejiofor are riveting together; they have the kind of apparently effortless chemistry that makes every scene they share a delight. With a dynamite soundtrack under their feet, the two of them rock the house.
  15. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    75
    Talk to Me speaks powerfully to audiences with its potent blend of extraordinary performances and engaging soundtrack.
  16. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    Especially wonderful is Taraji P. Henson as Petey's longtime girlfriend Vernell , a vision in Foxy Brown period clothes with a pixie smile, lollipop legs, and a filthy mouth. After "Hustle & Flow ," this is at least the second movie Henson has stolen, and will Hollywood please do something about it?
  17. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
    70
    A poignant reminder of why people used to actually listen to their radios.
  18. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    70
    An imperfect picture that's alive every minute, a movie that perfectly captures the vibe of a person, a place, a time and a way of being, and even gets, indirectly and without a whiff of sanctimoniousness, to the heart of what being an American ought to mean.
  19. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    70
    With its R&B soundtrack and footage of civil unrest, Talk to Me might seem to cover familiar ground. But as an intimate portrait of the complex, fruitful and extremely volatile friendship between trailblazing African American men whose daring came to redefine an industry, it's fresh and revelatory.
  20. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    70
    Talk to Me, with two great actors, tells that story, and it makes you feel not only the joy people experienced in the wash of Greene's raucous, truth-saying humor, but also his wisdom and calm. And many mourned his death at 55 in 1984.
  21. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Toddy Burton
    67
    From James Brown to Sam Cooke, the songs set a mood that lingers for some time after.
  22. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    63
    Despite being abandoned in the late going by his director, Cheadle gives one of the year's most fully realized performances, and Henson is a revelation.
  23. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    63
    Don Cheadle has a fine time jiving through Talk to Me - accent, please, on the middle word. It's a black "Good Morning, Vietnam."
  24. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    63
    The problem is, the last section of the movie doesn't follow the career path of Greene: It traces the blander character of Hughes. Cheadle, who galvanizes the first half of the film, fades from view, and the best part of the conversation in Talk to Me goes with him.
  25. Empire
    Reviewed by: Helen O'Hara
    60
    There's terrific chemistry between the leads, but an episodic structure set over 20 years is too sprawling to really allow for a connection.
  26. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    60
    The movie always teeters on the verge of something deeper, and Cheadle's rendering of Greene's stubborn refusal to be domesticated is funny, exhilarating and then quietly tragic. But Lemmons keeps pulling back into jive-talking shtick, and for much of the time -- I felt as though someone had trapped me in a time-warped episode of "The Jeffersons."
  27. Variety
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    60
    Alternates too deliberately between jaunty comedy and serious message-making.
  28. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    58
    Unfortunately, that story isn't particularly well told, and after a while, the strength of the two leads' work and the popping soundtrack can't hide the fact that Lemmons doesn't really have much to say about the material.
  29. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    58
    Whatever brought Greene down was far more complex than this film allows for.
  30. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    50
    A potentially great movie winds up buried inside a just OK one.
  31. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    50
    The banality of Talk To Me is only half disappointing; at least it babbles clichés with conviction.
  32. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joanne Kaufman
    50
    For a movie that celebrates the power of speech, Talk to Me is oddly tongue tied. Its dialogue, equal parts uptight honky and jumping jive seems, particularly in the early stretches, to have been generated by a computer.
  33. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    The early scenes of Greene misbehaving on the air are pretty funny, thanks mainly to Martin Sheen as the apoplectic station manager. But I was bummed out by the movie's trite VH1 cartoon of the black power era--especially coming from Kasi Lemmons, who made her directing debut with the hauntingly ambiguous "Eve's Bayou."
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. KenG.
    7
    Interesting, well-acted look at a person (Cheadle) most people today don't know about, however, movie does overstay its welcome, as the idea that the break-up between Cheadle's and Ejiofor's characters, was one of the "tragic" break-ups in the history of show business (you would think it was right up there with the break-ups of the Beatles, and Martin & Lewis) is laid-on much too thick. Also, as a couple of critics here have pointed out, the filmmakers made the ill-advised decision to follow Ejiofor's character in the last section of movie, much more than Cheadle's character, but Cheadle's character is the much more interesting character. Henson as Cheadle's girlfriend, is very appealing.… Full Review »
  2. Spongeee
    9
    Great film. Cheadle should win Best Male Lead for this role. Dont let the medicore critic reviews fool you...the emotion and genuine nature of this film is what carries it. Great acting, camera work, editing, music, and art direction overall. A MUST SEE!… Full Review »
  3. DP
    10
    Strong story, three terrific performances: Cheadle, Ejiofor, and Henson.
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