Talk to Me [dir. Kasi Lemmons]

2007, 118 minutes
w/ Don Cheadle, Chiwitel Ejiofor & Taraji P. Henson
[Following pics like Stomp the Yard and Who's Your Caddy, actress Kasi Lemmons presents maybe the year's first great film to celebrate black people and to avoid stereotypes or shy from what Cheadle's Petey Greene calls "nigger jokes." Written by Rick Famuyiwa (Brown Sugar) and Michael Genet, Talk to Me tells the fascinating story of convict-turned-D.C. DJ Petey Greene and his discoverer-turned-DJ, Dewey Hughes (the ever-impressive Chiwitel Ejiofor). The movie starts out in rather ordinary, linear fashion as Greene manages to get out on parole and convinces Dewey Hughes to give him a shot (or two) at DJing, and as expected, he becomes a big hit. It's the film's second and third act that begin to move toward Spike Lee territory as Petey's newfound fame has him questioning why his mostly white audience laughs so hard (see Dave Chappelle) while Hughes pushes him harder and harder to making him a star. The lead roles are played to near perfection, Cheadle playing against type in his quirky, loud mouth role and Chiwitel Ejiofor (almost) nailing his American accent (he's a Brit) and bringing essential life to his character who could have gone to *eek* Will Smith had this been a bigger production. Taraji P. Henson who stole scenes in Hustle & Flow does the same again as Greene's sassy, loyal girlfriend and cult favorite Mike Epps adds a couple emotional scenes at the beginning and end. The James Brown driven soundtrack is incredible as the film hits a high on Brown's "I'm Black and I'm Proud."]

***1/4