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Radio

(2003, Rated PG, Drama, Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Alfre Woodard)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 11; suggested age 11.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Lesson of kindness permeates inspiring true story.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 11 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Characters are cruel but learn their lesson. Even though it is set in the South in the decade after the Civil Rights Act was passed, the movie avoids stereotyping the white residents as racist.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Some tense moments; sad death (off-screen).
  • Sex:

    Radio is sent into the girls' locker room as a cruel prank; nothing is shown.
  • Language:

    A couple of bad words.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Radio

Parents need to know that this movie has a couple of bad words and a sad death (off-screen). In a cruel prank, Radio is sent into the girls' locker room (nothing shown). Characters are cruel but learn their lesson. Even though it is set in the South in the decade after the Civil Rights Act was passed, the movie avoids stereotyping the white residents as racist.

Read our full review by Nell Minow

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about disabled people they know and how they are treated. They could also talk about why Radio was so important to Coach Jones, and how sometimes, if we cannot correct a mistake we make at the time, we can find a way to use what we have learned to prevent another mistake in the future. They could talk about how the coach decided what his priorities really were and about how Radio showed that he understood some things better than people who thought they were smarter than he was.

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in Wyoming
    I rate this title on for age 10 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages
    • Good role models

    Perfect and good messages

    I just cried, and smiled. Remindes me of some special people that didnt care about diffrences, and thir impact. Thius should be seen by many if not all people.

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in Ohio
    I rate this title on for age 7 and give it 5.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    greatest ever

    obviously one of the best sports movies of all time violence may be an issue for smaller kids but still

  3. I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    a favorite for all time...

    this is one of my favorite movies forever....i wanna buy it so bad i just love it! i cried and laughed and it made me really feel with the characters it was just amazing!! it was so sweet too i think that everyone should watch this movie at least once in their life...

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Georgia
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Rodio is such an inspirational movie! I recomend it for everyone

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Washington
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    one of a kind!!

    The perfect movie for the whole family!

  6. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in Connecticut
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Radio is a wonderful, tear-jerking but not sad and inspiring film.

    I saw this a very long time ago and I will remember that it was a big tear-jerker. It was excellent, however. Inspiring, thoughtful, has a great lesson and story. I loved it and I want to own it, but younger kids might find it boring or very sad. The social behavior is bad. The movie centers on a colored person is mentally slow, and a bunch of kids at school play very mean pranks on him and call him names. All of those kids are white and there is a lot of prejudice going around, a lot from adults, against this man. He is deprived of certain thinsg and the story creates very sad and heartbreaking scenes in this way. Theres a little bit of language, if I remember, but nothing much else. Its for teens and up. A wonderful movie throughout.

  7. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Michigan
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    A great family film

  8. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Oklahoma
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 3.0

  9. Kid Reviewer Age 10
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 3.0

    Good Movie about Football

    Radio was a really nice guy and he made everyone love him.

  10. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 5 and give it 2.0

    Slow moving but good message

    We watched this as a family with my 5 year old son and 10 year old daughter. It is rather slow moving and predictable (my husband fell asleep) but there are some great lessons about how one person can make big change in a community. My daughter found the father-daugher relationship in the movie really sad. Its worth spending some time talking about with your daughter.

  11. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Indiana
    I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it 3.0

    ...

    Even though I wouldn't normally recommend a movie with racial themes and mean-spirited jokes to children, the tolerance and kindness lessons outweigh that. I think it would be fantastic for a junior high school class to watch and discuss the themes of this movie.

  12. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Maine
    I rate this title on for age 8 and give it 4.0

    Good lessons here

    This was a helpful movie for my 10yo daughter. Seeing how other people live and how disability doesn't make someone less of a person is an important lesson. Cuba Gooding Jr. does an amazing job of acting. The scene where Radio gets taped is a little scary. It is sad to see how some people treat the disabled or people of color. Another good movie with this theme is "The Boys Next Door."

  13. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 8 and give it 4.0

    Excellent movie. The movie is about Cuba Gooding Jr's character who is developmentally disabled. He was perfectly happy wandering around on the streets, but always stopped by to watch football practice at the local highschool. He loved listening to the radio whether it be a football game being broadcast or music he liked to dance to. The football coach saw his passion for football and decided to make the quality of his life better by taking him under his wing and giving him tasks to do to help out the team. People from the town fought to have him taken out of the school, but Radio had an affect on the kids at school. He was loved by them and the football coach, so much that he sacrificed his coaching job to keep Radio in the school system. Definitely a wonderful feel-good movie. Personally, I like movies that remind you of the important things in life. Keeps you grounded and reminds you that life isn't always so complicated when it comes to doing the right thing. There's nothing else like having someone care about you to make you feel good. I felt that some of the kids in the theater were too young to be there and couldn't grasp the concept, but if their parents were there to explain it to them, then the movie would be rewarding.

  14. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Radio is a meaningful movie that shows being nice can really pay off!

    This movie is about a mentally retarded young man who lives a challenging life. He always wanders around in the day time and stops by a high-school football field one day. He loves radios, and country music. The coach of the football team feels bad for Radio and so he lets him be the "Team mascot". Radio gets to know the entire team and starts to make friends. Then, after the football season is over, the coach doesn't want to leave Radio behind so he finds a spot at the school he teaches at so that Radio can do things around the school. Then, just as things start to become really good for Radio, his mom passes away. The coach feels terrible and since he has gotten to know and care for Radio, he decides to quit coaching the football team and spend more time with his family, which now includes Radio since the coaches family adopted him. Radio grows up to be a sweet, interesting guy who loves football and his family.

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