Radio (2003)

There is nothing more cringeworthy than a major Hollywood star playing a mentally retarded character, a statement which may leave you wondering what this has to do with a film starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Well, it turns out it's pretty disgusting no matter who it is lurching around and grunting through a set of monster teeth purchased at Walgreens the day before Halloween, purporting to offer a sensitive portrayal of the local retard who taught a small town to love. Ed Harris plays Coach Jones, the asshole who names Radio after an appliance. Never mind the fact that Radio is a human being who might not appreciate being renamed at will like a pet or object. In fact, Coach Jones learns from Radio's mom that his real name is James Robert Kennedy, but this information doesn't make much of an impact on anyone.

Radio's mom is granted all the dignity of dying off-screen so we can get to the climactic football game, but it's hard to feel bad about that when this negligent bat allowed her retarded son to push a shopping cart around back alleys every day. Of course, she and Coach Jones are portrayed as saintly figures whose compassion inspires the high school football team to make Radio their mascot. Radio is a dull, sappy bore that should rightly upset anyone concerned that Cuba Gooding, Jr. pretending to be retarded is the kind of publicity the mentally disabled don't need.

Memorable quote: "Whe' mah pie!"