Radio (2003)
This review from the archives was first published as an introduction to the movie in my Film Forum column at Christianity Today in 2003.
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2025 Update: This review from the archives was first published as an introduction to the movie in my Film Forum column at Christianity Today in 2003. That edition of the column, which also included coverage of several other films and perspectives from a wide variety of religious-media critics, was, for reasons I’ve never understood, handed off to a site called Crosswalk, which eventually buried it. So, this is what remains, republished with permission.
Radio is another sport-oriented true-life drama from writer Mike Rich, who wrote The Rookie. Like that film, Radio focuses on the way a community comes together to lift up one individual and help him surmount difficult obstacles.
But unlike that film, which was one of 2002’s most rewarding and surprising releases, Radio toes the line of parody with its Disability-Tearjerker genre cliches, and ultimately arrives at unfair conclusions, painting healthcare professionals as heartless villains.