In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones spots a mentally disabled African-American young man nicknamed Radio near his practice field and is inspired to befriend him. Soon, Radio is Jones' loyal assistant, and he becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School. But things start to sour when Coach Jones begins taking guff from parents and fans who feel that his devotion to Radio is getting in the way of the team's quest for a championship.
Directed by Michael Tollin
mentally disabled
high school
friendship
sports
american football
1970s
american football coach
biography
based on true story
inspiration
kindness
inspiring story
teenage daughter
disability
schoolteacher
mentor protégé relationship
racial issues
based on magazine, newspaper or article
father daughter relationship
uplifting
Rank
#119 in 2003·#6469 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.2 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Radio
Ed Harris
Coach Jones
Alfre Woodard
Principal Daniels
S. Epatha Merkerson
Maggie
Debra Winger
Linda Jones
Chris Mulkey
Frank
Sarah Drew
Mary Helen Jones
Brent Sexton
Honeycutt
Riley Smith
Johnny
Patrick Breen
Tucker
Bill Roberson
Del
Michael Harding
Irv the Cop
Crew
Michael Tollin
Director
Mike Rich
Writer
James Horner
Original Music Composer
Chris Lebenzon
Editor
Don Burgess
Director of Photography
Todd Garner
Executive Producer
Caitlin Scanlon
Executive Producer
Michael Tollin
Producer
Brian Robbins
Producer
Hector C. Gika
Sound Designer
Gary Archer
Prosthetics
Margery Simkin
Casting
Popular Reviews
212 reviews
Cooper Heide
4.0★ · 03/16/26
My friends decided to watch this over No Country For Old Men btw
My friends decided to watch this over No Country For Old Men btw
Cooper Owens
7.0★ · 01/18/26
Such a beautiful story, they do a great job at capturing radio’s spirit
This is one of those movies that I’m gonna watch a hundred times over and never get tired of it.
Such a beautiful story, they do a great job at capturing radio’s spirit
This is one of those movies that I’m gonna watch a hundred times over and never get tired of it.
Louise Krohn
6.0★ · 01/01/26
i thought this was a really sweet movie, but then again i do love sports drama movies for some reason.
i thought this was a really sweet movie, but then again i do love sports drama movies for some reason.
