Directed by: Michael Tollin
**** stars
Rated: PG for mild language
Released: October 13, 2003
Movie time: 105 minutes

The movie Radio is about a mentally disabled young man, James Robert Kennedy, who spends his days walking past a football field with his shopping cart watching the kids practice. After a few days the team notice him lingering by the fence. They do a pretty horrible thing to him, stuffing him in a closet all tied up. After that incident, the team’s coach, Jones, befriends the traumatized and scared James. He lets James watch and even help out on football practices. James soon becomes much more comfortable with the coaches. Coach calls him Radio because he loves the Radio the coach gave him. Coach Jones meets Radio’s mother who is very cautious and seems untrusting towards coach Jones and his intentions.

We also see how Coach Jones’s family interacts. The bond between coach and his daughter is very fragile.

Coach Jones lets Radio go to the school where he teaches and everyone grows fonder of Radio. Then Radio becomes an assistant coach at his first football game. Watching Cuba Gooding’s excitement was very heartwarming. There were also some humorous parts. The coach gets in an argument with the referee. He uses the term “chicken sh*t” which Radio happens to pick up. He keeps yelling it and getting the other team yards as a penalty, while everyone is trying to push him back. I found that particularly funny.

A sad part of the movie is when Radio’s mom dies. It made me feel like crying because it was so sad. This event reconnects the bond between coach and his daughter. Compliments to the director on that one.

The movie’s ending was a really intresting one. Radio is allowed to remain an 11th grade student as long as he
wanted and the school board that wanted him out changed their minds. In the end, he ends up as the football coach of the team when he is 51.

I really loved this movie; it made you feel a lot of emotions. It was heartwarming, sad, touching, and funny. Kudos to the director, it is very difficult to get all that in a single movie. I would have given it a 5 out of 5 stars, but there were some parts that were a little boring. For example, the scenes between the coach and his wife didn’t seem to add to the movie. Overall, great movie - one of the best I’ve seen.