Radio Flyer

Rating: 5/10 (25 August 2014)

In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey tells Ben Stiller that he went full retard for a film role and you must never go full retard.
Maybe advice Cuba Gooding Jr should have heeded as he plays a young mentally challenged black man in a South Carolina small town in the mid 1970s, who spends his days pushing a shopping trolley, being fascinated by radios and comes on the radar of High School Sports Coach Jones who spends time with him and gets him to help out at the school and not be an outsider being ignored. He gets adopted as the school's mascot and gains acceptance after some initial resistance from a few of the students.
Radio is based on the true story of Robert 'Radio' Kennedy. Its a formulaic film but has winning performances from Ed Harris, Alfre Woodard and Debra Winger. Cuba's performance divided opinions, although he is an Oscar winning actor, he seemed to be too immersed in the role without giving any other light or shade. Gooding has been criticised for some of his broad comedy films in the past and maybe this was an attempt to address this criticism and re-establish his serious acting credentials.
The film is sentimental and maybe too saccharine and does lack depth as well but you cannot deny it is heartwarming.