Radioman (Mary Kerr, 2012) USA

Reviewed by Mitchell Schena. Screened at the Metropolitan 4, Santa Barbara.

We follow the life of an incredible individual living in New York City who has wow’d not only majority of the film business’ A-List actors and directors, but many of every day movie enthusiasts as well. With an extremely impressive film resume with movies such as “Godzilla”, “Shutter Island”, “Mr.Deeds” and many more, actor Radioman has featured in more movies than most actors in their time. Most of them consisting of back round roles and getting a few lines here and there, Radioman never seized to take any opportunity he could. This amazing documentary is not only heart warming but entertaining and insightful as well.

Radioman is an interesting person who was once homeless, then working his way back to not only recovering from alcoholism, but also earning a place to live. He says he “likes the way he lives and would never want to change it.” Radioman simply finds the joy in life, a skill that majority of the population lacks. He doesn’t need expensive things or money to be happy, he finds thrill and excitement just getting lost in films. All he needs his is radio, which he keeps tied around his neck in fear of having it stolen again, his bike, and a shooting scene to be happy. Major star actors such as Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Robin Williams and many more all have nothing but positive things to say about Radioman. Referring to him as one of the only truly selfless people in this world, he always goes out of his way to say hello and ask how you are doing. He wakes up every day with a new shooting scene in NYC which he sets his mind on getting in. “He knows where we’re shooting even before I do” says Shia Labeouf just further showing his passion to only expand his extensive list of films.

This documentary uses many 1 on 1 interviews with todays biggest stars to win over the audience and actually convince us that Radioman is as heartwarming and kind as we’re led on to believe. I was disappointed when I began to realize that this movie was coming to its end only to turn and see the quirky little man standing only feet away from me awaiting for his Q&A. This documentary really changed Radioman’s life, having him fly all around the world only sharing the story as one of the most successful actors in the business. Not using money or wealth as a meter for success either, Radioman simply uses happiness, creativity, and passion to drive him to reach his dreams of having the world one day know his true talent as a film actor.