Street Smart

R

Released Mar 20, 1987

1 hr. 37 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

67%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Jonathan Fisher (Christopher Reeve) is a reporter struggling to keep his job at a magazine. Assigned to write a real-life prostitution exposé, he fails to gain information from his subjects and decides to make up his own story about a pimp. The piece revives his career, but his fictional character turns out to be strangely similar to Fast Black (Morgan Freeman), an actual pimp, who is outraged and demands that Jonathan spill his sources. When the police get involved, matters get even uglier.

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Yoosik Ethan O

One of the few hidden gems from the Cannon group of the 80's. A good idea for a premise, made even better by standout performances by Morgan Freeman and Kathy Bates. This Oscar nominated performance was what no doubt put Freeman on the map to many more critically acclaimed roles

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

Shioka O

Freeman's breakthrough role. I like Schatzberg's realism, and I think he, a renowned photographer, is good at capturing actor's performance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/21/22

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie was a long-time passion project for star Christopher Reeve, but he couldn't get it financed. When Cannon acquired the rights to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Reeve agreed to do that movie if Cannon paid for this one. The story came from David Freeman, who wrote the last draft for Alfred Hitchcock's final unproduced movie The Short Night, which the author turned into the 1984 book The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock. The script was in a big pile of ones sent to Reeve, who had read a few pages and decided that it wasn't for him. Weeks later, he picked it up, read it again and decided he had to make it. It's sort of based on real life, as Washington Post writer Janet Cooke has won a Pulitzer for her story about the life of a 9-year-old heroin addict. Two days after the award was given, the newspaper's publisher Donald E. Graham held a press conference and admitted that the story was fictional. To make things worse, Cooke had forged her educational and resume. She left the paper, but after doing an interview with former boyfriend Mike Sager, the twosome sold the film rights to their story to Tri-Star Pictures for $1.6 million. That movie was never made. This one was. Director Jerry Schatzberg (The Seduction of Joe Tynan) and Reeve wanted to shoot on location in New York City, but Cannon was in money-saving mode and probably kept $2 million of their money by shooting it in Quebec. In fact, Cannon meddled throughout the movie and finally dumped it in just 300 theaters. The irony of that is that this is one of a handful of Cannon movies that achieved their dream: co-star Morgan Freeman was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Fast Black. Fast Back is really a pimp named Leo Smalls, Jr. and everyone believes that he's the pimp that reporter Jonathan Fisher (Reeve) has been writing about and discussing on his new TV show, Street Smart. Now, his editor Ted Avery (Andre Gregory of My Dinner With Andre) and district attorney Leonard Pike (Jay Patterson) want him to give up his sources. The problem is that he's made everything up. But the real world that Jonathan soon finds himself in is dangerous, with him in danger of being prosecuted, being found out as a liar or worse, losing his life and the life of his lover Alison (Mimi Rogers). With a Miles Davis soundtrack and an intense performance by Freeman, Street Smart is one of the better movies Cannon would make, even if they didn't know how to sell it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

jon c

Talk about not being street smart The late Christopher Reeve, Morgan Freeman, Kathy Baker, Mimi Rogers Jonathan Fisher is a reporter for Street Smart TV struggling to keep his job at a magazine Assigned to write a real-life prostitution exposé, he fails to gain information from his subjects and decides to make up his own story about a pimp He gets to know one of the call girls Punchy, she shares some of her life's story to gain a deeper understanding of the lifestyle The piece revives his career, but what he didn't count on was his fictional character turns out to be strangely similar to Fast Black, an actual pimp, who is outraged and demands that Jonathan spill his sources When the police get involved, matters get even uglier Jonathan is thrust into the underworld of pimps and prostitution A lot of this is pretty uneventful; the real juicy material doesn't happen until the very end It's a shame cause Jonathan is pulled through the ringer being dragged into court and even jail for not providing info on the expose It would've been more suspenseful if he had to continually dodge Fast Black at every turn The film is a bit too smart for its own good The pacing is messy and the script has a very strained plot Not one Reeve's or Freeman's finer pics but there's enough for certain lovers of street crime movies

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Smart, gritty drama with a great Oscar-nominated performance from Morgan Freeman as a volatile Yoo-hoo drinking pimp called "Fast Black."

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

steve d

The performances make this a must watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Jerry Schatzberg

Director

Christopher Reeve

Jonathan Fisher

Morgan Freeman

Fast Black

Kathy Baker

Punchy

Mimi Rogers

Alison Parker

Jay Patterson

Leonard Pike

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Henry Sheehan

Chicago Reader

While the tone is downbeat, the bitter realism and quiet virtuosity of Street Smart are, in the forcefulness of their presentation, strangely exhilarating.

Rated: 4/4

May 9, 2022

Full Review

Pauline Kael

New Yorker

Is Morgan Freeman the greatest American actor?

Jan 14, 2013

Full Review

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Street Smart winds up being a bit too smart for its own good, but it's compelling and complex.

Rated: 3/5

May 20, 2003

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Fact checkers will bail on this improbable, boring drama that deigns to make Christopher Reeve's character the hero even after he dangles his girlfriend as pimp bait. So should you, as Morgan Freeman's performance doesn't justify the casual racism.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 24, 2019

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 4/5

Jul 29, 2005

Full Review

Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS)

Rated: 2/5

Jul 1, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Jonathan Fisher (Christopher Reeve) is a reporter struggling to keep his job at a magazine. Assigned to write a real-life prostitution exposé, he fails to gain information from his subjects and decides to make up his own story about a pimp. The piece revives his career, but his fictional character turns out to be strangely similar to Fast Black (Morgan Freeman), an actual pimp, who is outraged and demands that Jonathan spill his sources. When the police get involved, matters get even uglier.

Director: Jerry Schatzberg
Screenwriter: David Freeman
Distributor: The Cannon Group
Production Co: Golan-Globus
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 20, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $711.0K
Sound Mix: Surround