Wonderful character development!

Sorry, this movie sucks

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's May 1966. Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) works programming at WOL-AM in Washington DC. During his visit with his brother in prison, he meets outrageous Petey Greene (Don Cheadle) who cajoles a promise to see him after he gets out. Petey gets out much sooner than expected. The station is losing ground to the competition but manager E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen) still won't let the street hustler Greene on the air. Dewey and Petey lock themselves in the booth and end up becoming the legendary media personality. Taraji P. Henson plays Petey's wild girlfriend Vernell Watson. Cedric the Entertainer plays another radio personality Nighthawk Bob Terry.It's a pretty straight biopic from Kasi Lemmons. I don't think Martin Sheen fits his character. He needs to be more straight laced and conservative. Cheadle and Ejiofor are terrific. Don Cheadle energizes the whole movie. It is without a doubt his movie and he owns it. Ejiofor is there every step of the way. He is just as powerful to counter Cheadle. Taraji P. Henson needs an honorable mention for her great work. The movie does fade in the last act as it loses the energy of Petey Greene. It may be a better option to follow Petey rather than Dewey.

I wanted to stop watching during the first 30 minutes due to boredom, but kept at it given the good reviews. I have mixed feelings about having continued.The strength of the movie consists of the clever dialog of "Petey Greene" and the fact that it is a historic biopic. Don Cheadle (Petey Greene) and Chiwetel Ejiofor do great jobs of acting, but the characters weren't really interesting. In fact, Petey Greene was mostly annoying and unpleasant to watch.I think the only thing I will take away from the movie are a few key bits of good dialog. The comments he made on the radio and at a rally after Martin Luther King was shot were interesting to hear. If you want to calm a city of full of anger and violence, his brief speeches (whether they were real speeches he gave or not) were pretty great. If you can just watch that segment (less than 15 minutes total), you might be better off than watching the whole thing.

My wife, before she was my wife, worked in Washington during Petey Greene's time on the radio, but had no idea who he was. Just as the many who live in Washington today probably don't know Tim Russert. This movie shows again the divide that exists in this country when two great men can die without the notice of a large segment of the population. The fact that 10,000 people can attend a funeral and most Americans cannot tell you who this man was is a shame.What really impressed me with this film was the understated way Don Cheadle played the role. He was perfect for the part, and Kasi Lemmons did a superb job of directing Michael Genet's story. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor, and he and Cheadle probably did the roles of their careers here. Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow, Four Brothers) was also great as Petey's companion, and Martin Sheen was a real joy to watch as the station owner.After you find out about Petey Greene by watching this movie, you can always go to You Tube and see the real person. Isn't that great?

Petey Green's story is one of thousands that need to be told, not only for African-American history, but for this country in general. The most inspiring thing that got me was during the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King, when he went on the air and calmed folks down. For those who do not remember that time, it was one of the scariest times in the internal USA history. The movie made it seem like he put his personal feelings aside, which were no doubt tumultuous, and tried to bring the city to peace. Forget the fact that he made mistakes in life, and look towards what his heart was saying through his commentary, the same heartfelt things no doubt shared by many Americans. This is a movie that will show you that good can arise from bad situations, that the inner man is more important than the outer man.