Radioman Review

4th Oct 2012

If you don’t know or have never heard of Radioman – then this could well prove to an on interesting documentary insight into the life of a man who has been in the movie business for over 20 years. But perhaps not in a way you may suspect.

Radioman has appeared in various films from some of the world’s biggest directors (Soderbergh, Scorsese, Stone, Spielberg). He may look like he lives on the streets (and whilst he admits that he used to), the resident New Yorker started bartering his way onto movie sets since as far back as 1990’s Bonfire of the Vanities. And as of today, he still works his way around New York visiting from dawn to Dusk as many sets as he can, saying hello to various cast and crew with whom are familiar with the man – and often bagging himself a cameo in the background of various films.

Many big names pop up in the film to say a few words about the man whilst the camera crew follow him around his daily routine and dig up stories about his past – mostly from the man himself. The journey he has been on may well come across in a variety of ways – but by the end whether you think he’s a few peddles short of a bike ride or not, you have to admit that he has at least committed himself to work that not everyone on the planet is perhaps as adept at getting.

Robin Williams is one of many names that pop up in the documentary to talk about the man, and you can see a facial similarity between the two – so much in fact Williams you could clearly see playing the fictionalised version of the character should that ever come about.

It’s a short, but charming enough piece that travels from coast to coast, leaving the imprint of a man that you are sure to spot in films in the future. Kind of like the where’s wally of the film world!