"Talk Radio" review

Talk Radio (1988)

Directed by Oliver Stone
Writing credits Stephen Singular Eric Bogosian

Eric Bogosian.... Barry
Ellen Greene.... Ellen
Leslie Hope.... Laura
John C. McGinley .... Stu
Alec Baldwin .... Dan

Barry Champlain, (Eric Bogosian), hosts a late night radio talk show. He talks about how he "despises each and every one of you." He berates anyone who calls him. Even fans get put through the wringer. He is very good at pushing people's buttons. He's so good that a big corporation wants to pick up his show for national syndication. He may be a little too good as he is also inflaming most of his deranged fans to the point of death threats.

"Talk Radio" is a great movie. The tagline for the movie is "The last neighborhood in America". That claim may have been superseded by message boards on the internet. Of course, the principle is still the same: Anonymous people yell at each other over some random topic. Nothing ever gets solved. The "talk" is the entertainment. How effectively you can upset your opponent is how you win the game. Champlain is the master.

Bogosian is the movie. We watch him launch tirade after tirade against his listening audience. It's hilarious. His stress management consists of him having a cathartic experience every night. He still ends up hating everybody. And himself.

See this movie.

SCORE: 4 out of 4 Barry Champlains