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."
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.