Acting Has A New Standard

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2012)

So here's the deal: Radio is a great movie. The true story of Radio illustrates how a mentally handicapped man transforms from being an outcast to the inspiration of the cities football team. Now most people won't take my word for it since the only thing you know about me is my internet name on IMDb. Now Shakespeare might disagree, but I understand, I wouldn't trust anyone on just their name, because "what's in a name?" So give me a chance and I will prove to you why Radio is a great movie.
There are several aspects of the movie that obviously stand out to any audience and one of those is acting. Some people might not know that Cuba Gooding Jr. does not have autism, without outside knowledge it would be impossible to tell. In fact he is a perfectly normal, playing other roles in movies like Pearl Harbor and Red Tails. It is important that this be made clear to truly grasp the acting abilities of Cuba Gooding Jr. Mainly due to his incredible acting, Radio's true story was perfectly conveyed. Ed Harris, who played Coach Jones, also gave a spectacular performance, adapting to Radio's changing character. Throughout the progression of the movie, both of these characters relate and portray a building relationship, making it an extremely realistic cinema.
One of the next features that make this movie great is the directing skills Michael Tolin brought to the table. Now you probably haven't heard of him mostly because this movie was one his only big hits. But let's overlook that for now and focus on what it takes to make a great director. I believe in the case of a true story, a great director's job is to be like a chef. He is to combine an adequate mixture of true events and sprinkle in parts that are simply for the audience's entertainment. Since the story has already happened the director cannot change that part of the recipe, leaving the entertainment for him to create. Now this is not necessarily an easy job, take the simple, super-short plot of Radio as an example: The story of how a mentally retarded man journey's from complete isolation to being the main focus of an entire town. My goal for this statement is not to offend anyone but to simply establish that without the 'splash of entertainment' this plot would not make for a good movie. Therefore, I say all of this to ascertain that Michael Tolin came through, pulling a delicious pastry from the oven. He created a blend of touching emotions and 'manly' football, great for all types of audiences.
Now some might say that this movie is predictable or not even realistic. Well unless you have a glass ball and consider yourself a psychic then there is no way to predict the movie. I will agree that at a first glance Radio may seem clichÃ©, and I can see how you would think that since it is based on football (and most football movies are almost all the same). But Radio is different, it includes a great story and plot that takes place off the football field and therefore as a whole the movie is extremely original. To the people that might claim that Radio is not realistic, the last scene of the movie explained clearly it was a true story. So I don't know how much more realistic a movie can be than a true story.
I give this movie ten stars and I hope that you agree with my thoughts that Radio is in fact a great movie, and who knows, maybe Shakespeare was wrong all along.