Petey's timing was nearly perfect. With a risky endorsement from program director Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Greene took over the morning show and revolutionized the airwaves. But that victory represents only half the movie, which pivots on the night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, then devolves into familiar showbiz parable. No one would mistake Greene as a saint, but what makes him such a fascinating, flawed character wasn't the womanizing or alcoholism we see in the movie.

Surf on over to YouTube, and you'll discover exactly why the man was such a long shot for a career in radio: Like a half-crazy street-corner evangelist, Greene repeatedly insisted that he spoke the truth, which in practice amounted to an unfiltered, free-associative rap on the African-American experience. He was the community's id unleashed, projecting not only the secret thoughts no one dared say but plenty of utter nonsense as well.

Talk to Me repeats only his most unobjectionable sound bites, the worst being a slanderous remark toward Motown mogul Barry Gordy. In reality, Greene managed to put everyone on the defensive, constantly forcing his listeners to examine whether they were being true to themselves. Though F-bombs abound, and characters drop the N-word with unenlightened abandon, this is a "safe" Petey Greene we all can love — which sort of defeats the whole purpose of his message. The movie suggests that Greene shook things up when the world needed it most while assuring us that everything's better today. But if he were still alive, rest assured that he would not fall silent now.

[as featured in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram]