Petey starts his show, and once Mr. Sonderling is released from his office, he demands that the police be called to eject Petey. As they are arguing, all the telephone lines light up with listeners wanting to talk to Petey. As a result, he is given the job. “Telling it like it is”, Petey becomes highly popular on the air. His girlfriend, Vernell, catches him with another woman, and he is kicked out of his home and moves in with Dewey temporarily. Petey is on the air when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated, and becomes a voice of reason as rioters run amok in the streets of Washington in the aftermath. He is the MC for a free James Brown concert at Georgetown University meant to calm tempers, but shows up drunk. Nonetheless, his remarks are well-accepted by the crowd, and James Brown tells him that he can introduce him anytime. Petey’s popularity gains him his own television show, and his star continues to rise. Dewey gets him invited onto The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, but Petey is reluctant to go on. Vernell tells Dewey that Petey doesn’t want to go on, but Dewey insists it will be fine. Petey goes on, alienates the audience, and his appearance is a disaster. Dewey and Petey fight backstage, and both are arrested and spend the night in jail. Some time passes, and Dewey now owns the station. Vernell visits him and prevails on Dewey to reconcile with Petey. They play pool together, and finally express their love and admiration for one another. Petey soon dies, and Dewey gives a fond eulogy in front of a large crowd of Petey’s fans. Reception Release Talk to Me had its world premiere as the opening night film of the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 22, 2007. It opened in theaters on July 13, 2007 and made $400,000 in its opening weekend. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, review aggregator, the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 126 reviews and an average score of 6.95/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A riveting look at the life of legendary DJ 'Petey' Greene, Talk to Me goes beyond the typical biopic with explosive performances from Don Cheadle and Chiwetal Ejiofor." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 69 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Michael