The night I went to see Radio, I parked my car in the underground garage of the mall that houses the theater. I walked to the escalators and noticed they were out-of-order -- again. An elderly woman stood in front of them, looking annoyed, and in no shape to climb the tall steps of the still escalator. "They ought to do something about this," she said. We both concluded there must be an elevator nearby, so I went off to look for it. When I found it, I escorted the woman to it and rode up with her. She thanked me. "That was so nice of you; you didn't have to do this."

Little did I know how much this vibe of friendliness would end up being the theme of the night. Before the movie began, I struck up small conversations with two other theater patrons, one to either side of me -- something I almost never do. I gave my complimentary popcorn, which I didn't feel like eating, to the friend of one of them. Then the lights dimmed, and we watched Radio, a movie which seemed to take great pains to show us how much sweeter life would be if we all just took the time to be nice to each other.

Radio is truly a challenge for the cynic. It is, in every way, the kind of movie a high-minded movie-lover is meant to hate. It's sappy, manipulative, warm and fuzzy, and has morals to teach. It has no discernable style -- a waste of a widescreen, really, as it could easily be a TV movie, since its primary concern is the story it wants to tell, and not so much the way it's telling it. And yet, it seems so sincere, as if it really believes no other movie has done what it's doing. When it jerks the viewers' tears, one doesn't imagine a puppetmaster gleefully grinning at the fact he could get his audience to cry; instead, it's more like a guy telling a story and crying along with his audience, saying, "It's so sad... I'm sorry... excuse me, I apologize, I'm tearing up..."

All the movie wants to do is tell the true story of Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a young, black, mentally-challenged individual who is befriended by a South Carolina high school football coach (Ed Harris). Thematically, it's about thoughtfulness, and how rewarding something that requires so little relative effort can be. The movie really has no conflict. Yes, there's a  villain, but his gripe toward Radio seems founded on nothing more than having a personal problem with him. Every other challenge Radio and the coach meet appears as if it will be major, but then it turns out to be minor. For instance, in one scene, Radio goes door-to-door delivering Christmas presents when a policeman arrests him, suspicious of the origins of his gifts. Slammed down on the trunk of the patrol car, Radio is handcuffed, and here comes the ominous music. We see Radio's scared face, and I'm rolling my eyes thinking, "Oh no, here we go, big conflict." Nope -- at the station, the two veteran cops recognize the endearing youth, and the next thing we see is Radio watching basketball on TV, while the cop that arrested him sits at a typewriter, looking kind of ashamed. This is about as threatening as things get for our hero.

What emerges here is a direct contrast of pure goodwill vs. pure mean-spiritedness. No one's initial attitude toward Radio is given any real impetus, other than how a person is inclined to look at the guy and decide right then and there that he or she either likes him or doesn't like him. Then the movie proceeds to ask why all of us can't adopt the friendlier disposition. Look at Radio. He's so good to everyone. Why would some people have the impulse to hurt him? It doesn't take much to be nice, right?

During a scene where Radio is actually forced to face a tragedy, the woman I gave my popcorn to was audibly bawling. As she whipped out the Kleenex, I couldn't help thinking, "This movie... there's nothing to it. It's so straightforward -- we've seen this all before, yet look at these people!" Still, it's difficult to be hard-hearted about a film wearing a "Commit random acts of kindness!" bumper sticker and meaning it. After all, what was ever wrong with that advice?

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated "PG" for mild language and thematic elements.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.