Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Don Cheadle | ... | Petey Greene | |
Chiwetel Ejiofor | ... | Dewey Hughes | |
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Bruce McFee | ... | Prison Sign-In Guard |
Mike Epps | ... | Milo Hughes | |
Peter MacNeill | ... | Warden Cecil Smithers | |
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Adam Gaudreau | ... | Escorting Guard |
Taraji P. Henson | ... | Vernell Watson | |
Cedric the Entertainer | ... | 'Nighthawk' Bob Terry | |
Martin Sheen | ... | E.G. Sonderling | |
J. Miles Dale | ... | Program Director | |
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Sean MacMahon | ... | Ronnie Simmons |
Richard Chevolleau | ... | Poochie Braxton | |
Martin Randez | ... | Hadley | |
Todd Schroeder | ... | Guard Captain (as Todd William Schroeder) | |
Vondie Curtis-Hall | ... | Sunny Jim Kelsey (as Vondie Curtis Hall) |
The true life story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C., vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. It was the place and time for Petey to fully express himself - sometimes to outrageous effect - and "tell it like it is." With the support of his irrepressible and tempestuous girlfriend Vernell, the newly minted ex-con talks his way into an on-air radio gig. He forges a friendship and a partnership with fellow prison inmate Milo's brother Dewey Hughes. From the first wild morning on the air, Petey relies on the more straight-laced Dewey to run interference at WOL-AM, where Dewey is the program director. At the station, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing even the established popularity of his fellow disc jockeys, Nighthawk and Sunny Jim. Combining biting humor with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for station owner E.G. Sonderling. Petey was ... Written by Focus Features
As a resident of Washington, from 1962 to 1975, I got to know Petey Greene's Washington very well. Any African American who lived in DC during the sixties, seventies and eighties should find something to like in this flick for sure. Movie was both informative and entertaining - which are the best kind to me. The picture's primary characters are Petey and Dewey Hughes, two totally different brothers. How their relationships grows and evolves is a wonderful thing to experience and is the essence of the movie in my opinion. Expect to have some good laughs and a intimate look into a very chaotic period of American History. Movie caused me to remember feelings that had long passed into the mental archives. For those of you old enough to recall, the sixties and seventies where a very special time in this country. Movie gives a good look at the different perspectives of the period.
Oh, and Don Cheadle is becoming a class unto himself.