The entire time I was watching this movie I had no idea it was based on a true story and that a real, James Robert 'Radio' Kennedy exists. In fact, he's still alive as I write this, and at seventy two years old, still maintains his status as a 'junior' at the T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina. That just brought an entirely different perspective to watching the story, and the closing credits showing him participating with the football team and being actively engaged with the community is both inspiring and tear inducing.
The movie does a fine job of chronicling the way Coach Harold Jones (Ed Harris) took the young man under his wing following an unfortunate prank that members of the high school team played on him. Actually more than a prank, more like physical abuse. By degrees, Coach Jones and his assistant Honeycutt (Brent Sexton) bring the teenager around in a way that not only builds his self esteem, but allows the wider student body of Hanna to accept him as a school hall monitor and a vocal purveyor of school news with his morning PA announcements. We eventually come to learn about the coach's motivation during an emotional heart to heart conversation with his own teenage daughter (Sarah Drew), who along with the coach's wife (Debra Winger), had to often settle for a back seat when it came to Harold's attention.
I haven't seen Cuba Gooding Jr. in very many films, but I thought he did a very credible job in the role of 'Radio'. The nickname derived from the young man's fascination with a desk top radio given to him by the assistant coach, and it stuck. Due to Gooding's youthful appearance, you would never know that he was portraying a teenager at the age of thirty five. That he wasn't nominated in some of the major award categories for his role seems somewhat unfair, though in the same year, while nominated for Best Actor by the Image Award folks, he landed a Worst Actor nomination for roles in something called 'Boat Trip' and 'The Fighting Temptations'. I haven't seen those, so I'll have to reserve judgment.
Anyway, this is a simple story about how love and compassion can change lives, and in quite the intriguing way, how a single life can affect the way others see the world and themselves in relation to a disadvantaged youth. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have high schoolers, especially sports team members, watch the movie and learn how their daily actions can have an impact on a fellow human being forever.
The movie does a fine job of chronicling the way Coach Harold Jones (Ed Harris) took the young man under his wing following an unfortunate prank that members of the high school team played on him. Actually more than a prank, more like physical abuse. By degrees, Coach Jones and his assistant Honeycutt (Brent Sexton) bring the teenager around in a way that not only builds his self esteem, but allows the wider student body of Hanna to accept him as a school hall monitor and a vocal purveyor of school news with his morning PA announcements. We eventually come to learn about the coach's motivation during an emotional heart to heart conversation with his own teenage daughter (Sarah Drew), who along with the coach's wife (Debra Winger), had to often settle for a back seat when it came to Harold's attention.
I haven't seen Cuba Gooding Jr. in very many films, but I thought he did a very credible job in the role of 'Radio'. The nickname derived from the young man's fascination with a desk top radio given to him by the assistant coach, and it stuck. Due to Gooding's youthful appearance, you would never know that he was portraying a teenager at the age of thirty five. That he wasn't nominated in some of the major award categories for his role seems somewhat unfair, though in the same year, while nominated for Best Actor by the Image Award folks, he landed a Worst Actor nomination for roles in something called 'Boat Trip' and 'The Fighting Temptations'. I haven't seen those, so I'll have to reserve judgment.
Anyway, this is a simple story about how love and compassion can change lives, and in quite the intriguing way, how a single life can affect the way others see the world and themselves in relation to a disadvantaged youth. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have high schoolers, especially sports team members, watch the movie and learn how their daily actions can have an impact on a fellow human being forever.