Street Smart

Play trailer

Street Smart

R,

1987,

1h 37m,

Mystery & Thriller/

Crime/

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

67%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

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.

Henry Sheehan

Chicago Reader

May 9, 2022

4/4

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

Go to Full Review

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Jan 14, 2013

Is Morgan Freeman the greatest American actor?

Go to Full Review

Janet Maslin

New York Times

May 20, 2003

3/5

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

Go to Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Jun 24, 2019

2/5

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.

Go to Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Jul 29, 2005

4/5

Jake Euker

F5 (Wichita, KS)

Jul 1, 2005

2/5

Read all reviews

Abraham W

Mar 20, 2019

Christopher Reeve portrays a journalist whose fabricated tale of â24 hours in the life of a pimpâ? lands him in hot water with the courts after it closely resembles the story of a real-life pimp on trial for murder. The story is a tad unrealistic, but intriguing nonetheless. Reeve and Morgan Freeman form an uneasy alliance to try and cover both of their asses, but their relationship quickly deteriorates and Reeves must try to salvage his relationship, his career, and his freedom. Both co-stars excel in their roles, as does Kathy Baker as one of Freemanâ(TM)s girls who gets involved with Reeve. Freeman received an Oscar nomination for his smooth-talking, sometimes likable, sometimes violent performance. He never crosses the line into illogical or psychotic, but can definitely terrorize when necessary. A soundtrack from Robert Irving III and Miles Davis and cinematography by Adam Holender keeps the viewer hooked throughout, though the pacing is flawed at times. The ending feels a tad anticlimactic, but Iâ(TM)ll admit I canâ(TM)t come up with any better conclusion. The story is entertaining, the dialogue and characters are believable, and Reeve has good rapport with Baker.

See more

Read all reviews

Jerry Schatzberg

Director

Christopher Reeve

Jonathan Fisher

Morgan Freeman

Fast Black

Kathy Baker

Punchy

Mimi Rogers

Alison Parker

Jay Patterson

Leonard Pike

Guncrazy

63%

39%

Guncrazy

Watchlist

The Day After

86%

69%

The Day After

Watchlist

9th Company

69%

75%

9th Company

Watchlist

The Last Deadly Mission

56%

The Last Deadly Mission

Watchlist

Oxygen

77%

55%

Oxygen

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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
Producer: Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan
Screenwriter: David Freeman
Distributor: The Cannon Group
Production Co: Golan-Globus
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 20, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 5, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $711.0K
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Surround

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings