talk to me

We saw “Talk to Me” today, the movie with Don Cheadle about Petey Greene, an ex-con who became a radio disk jockey in the 60s in Washington, DC. WOW! It is a fabulous movie.

Why is it only playing in one movie theater in all of San Francisco? It is hard to believe in this day and age that a politically relevant movie about racism and the civil right movement is not playing on at least as many screens as Pirates of the Caribbean or I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

Maybe it is true that the primary market for the movie industry is 15 year old males. I’ve heard that for years, but it is hard to actually accept it. But what about all the art houses, like the Embarcadero? I read some on-line reviews, and several people mentioned the limited release of the film.

I sincerely hope that word of mouth turns this movie into a sleeper, and that it gets a wide release. The soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission.

A few things struck me. Petey Greene sat in the same high-back wicker throne that Huey Newton sat in. I wonder which came first. And when we got home, we were telling my girlfriend’s 15-year old son about the movie, and he asked, “What’s a disk jockey?”

It was one of those moments when you feel really old, but glad that you were around in the 60s. So go see it, dig the music, and make sure you bring plenty of Kleenex.