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”Radio” is a based-on-a-true story film about a retarded young man who is befriended by a popular football coach in a small, South Carolina town in the Seventies. You could say “Radio” is a sort of cross between “Forrest Gump” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”—there is the same rising-above-limitations good feeling and also some of the family-secrets-locked-in-the-cellar aspect of “Mockingbird.” But really, this film is its own story, and it’s told exceptionally well, with no simpering sentimentality and an avoidance of cheap pulls on the emotions. But it left me grabbing (pleasantly) for the tissue box at the end.

Radio, a retarded African-American youth who trundles throughout Anderson with his shopping cart, finds a football outside the playing field one afternoon when he stops to watch the game. After an incident with the football players, who terrorize him for taking the ball rather than returning it, the coach takes Radio under his wing and they develop a friendship and mentoring relationship that has the rest of the school, the town, and Jones’ family baffled. It causes no end of trouble for the coach, but the love between the characters teaches not only the coach, but everyone else what priorities are in life.

Cuba J. Gooding, Jr., is astonishingly perfect as the retarded young man. Gooding has almost no lines in the beginning of the film and conveys his character’s thoughts and feelings physically throughout. Radio’s character is always “in the moment” –acting on the immediacy of the situation. This meant that Gooding could not use “Method” acting in the way of drawing on his own emotions to key in to the character’s. Instead, Gooding uses physical movement and voice to create an unforgettable and surprisingly realistic

Ed Harris, always a favorite of mine, is terrific as Coach Jones, a man slow to conversation who has a rough time explaining just WHY he takes Radio under his wing, against the advice of nearly everyone else in town, including the school principal, played by Alfre Woodard. Debra Winger, lured out of retirement, looks perfect as the wife of the coach, though her Southern accent needed severe coaching. The accent falters significantly during her dialog and is pretty much “off”—which mars her otherwise well-acted supporting role as a minor character. Newcomer Sarah Drew as the daughter of Coach Jones is phenomenal; her facial expressions and emotion were stunningly perfect.

The 1.85:1 anamorphic image for "Radio" looked fine and natural on our 27" set, and the detail was crisp and clear. This new released DVD could not be better: no grain, no dirt, no scratches, and all perfection. No glitches at all. *****

The sound was not notable, but the dialog stayed at a proper level, never swamped by the music or by the crowd noises, and there is a choice of Dolby for your particular system. The score is also not notable, but not obtrusive either; in this film, the action (football, basketball) tells the story, so the sound and score are secondary. We did not notice much effect of the surround-sound.