That was an excellent one.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The production team of Golan-Globus didn't turn out many theatrical features which set awards season on fire, but "Street Smart" garnered great acclaim for Morgan Freeman as a tough New York pimp who takes exception to a seamy journalistic expose by writer Christopher Reeve which seems to be based on the pimp's operation; unfortunately (in the long run) for Reeve, he has made the entire story up. Unattractively foul-mouthed, and filmed in brackish color, the movie does manage to give Freeman a chance at exploring a dark, dangerous side that he rarely returned to again. Kathy Baker as a prostitute is also quite good, but Reeve (open-mouthed and vacuous) never loosens up. Not especially well-directed by Jerry Schatzberg, as Freeman looks like he can take care of himself. *1/2 from ****

Most viewers give their applause to Morgan Freeman for his performance as a Manhattan street pimp named "Fast Black". But the main note of interest to me in this film is the performance of Kathy Baker as a sympathetic hooker named "Punchy". The story is set entirely in Manhattan, and the main character is a magazine writer named Jonathan (Christopher Reeve). He unwittingly gets involved in a court case involving Fast Black, when he writes a fictional story that everyone assumes to be true.Except for Punchy, none of the characters are particularly interesting. They seem two-dimensional and rather shallow. The plot's pace, by today's standards, is somewhat slow. Scenes involve long camera "takes", and the script is heavy on dialogue. Color cinematography is adequate.With its grimy, dirty urban setting, its tawdry characters, and its slow pace, "Street Smart" reminds me a little of "The Panic In Needle Park" (1971), not really surprising since both films were directed by the same man, Jerry Schatzberg.To its credit, the story in "Street Smart" does address a legal issue faced by contemporary writers. How does a writer convince a court that the writer's "notes" about an article don't exist, when in fact they don't? I guess the writer needs to be aware of all contingencies, especially a high-profile writer like Jonathan who invents characters and stories and then tries to pass them off as non-fiction.While this film may be entertaining and/or informative to some viewers, it just doesn't work for me, aside from the performance of Kathy Baker, mostly because I just couldn't get interested in the film's characters or their tawdry drama.

Freeman gives his most powerful performance here. I've seen almost all of Morgan's films but I think this is his most outstanding performance. Fast Black is one juicy character and Morgan brings life into it. Christopher Reeve, god bless his sole, is a pretty bad actor. I only seen him in his Superman roles, which I wasn't much a fan of. But here his character gets a lot of screen time and Reeve just can't live up to it. He makes the movie boring. Kathy Baker excels in her role. Mimi Rogers does her part well. The film has an amazing storyline here, but screenplay is 50/50. If Morgan had more scenes the movie would have been way better. Yes there are some really strong scenes, but all of them involved Freeman. The direction wasn't great, if this movie was handled by a better director it would of been memorable. Many people probably don't even know about this movie and that's a shame because Freeman's performance must be watched. Freeman's outburst scene where he puts a bottle up to Reeve's face and gives him a 20 second stare is WOW. And not to forget the scissor scene where he threatens to poke Kathy's eye out...MARVELLOUS. What disappoints me the most, regardless of the many flaws in direction, is that Freeman didn't have a last scene in the climax. In a movie where Morgan kept everyone in their seats, the director/screenwriter didn't hook him up with a proper climax scene. I was expecting something huge, but instead the ending was the same old same old. Overall, the movie is OK, but Freeman's performance is great.

A superior movie, except that the ending is completely contrived and unbelievable. Morgan Freeman generally gets the palm for his performance in "Street Smart" and deserves it for turning in a masterful performance. Called in to straighten out some difficulty between one of his girls and her trick, he calms everyone down, the soul of reason, until the trick is distracted, then Freeman kicks him in the family jewels and does a number of his face too. It's a shocking burst of violence. And his rattlesnake-like ability to strike quickly isn't limited to important economic confrontations either. During a basketball game, one of his shots is blocked. He shoves his opponent to the pavement, suggests that he'd look particularly good dead, then notices that everyone is standing around agape, smiles reassuringly, pats the guy on the shoulder and hands him a good deal of money to buy and bring back -- "Some chicken, ribs, stuff like that." He calls out, "Keep the change," to the grateful survivor of this encounter. All of Freeman's violence comes as a surprise, particularly when Chris Reeves tries to cool him down and Freeman whips around and holds a broken bottle before Reeves' face, with the steady, sure hand of a surgeon. Almost invariably, these episodes are followed by big friendly grins, pats on the back, assurances that things are back to normal, generous offers of food, drink, or money. The change takes place in less than a second. Freeman is smarter than anyone else in the movie too. The main figure in a celebrated journalistic effort, he and his girl are invited to the publisher's party where everyone showers them with attention while they chat about "the Hamptons." Afterward, Punchy exults over the attention but Freeman sees through it all. He knows condescension when he sees it, and he is filled with resentment. Trying to put something over on Freeman is like trying to slip sunrise past a rooster.But Kathy Baker as the used Punchy deserves credit as well, although her part isn't nearly as showy and dramatic as Freeman's. She's just beyond the bloom of youth, rather used looking and heavily made up, and her figure, while ripely pleasant wouldn't draw stares in a supermarket. She's very appealing indeed in her vulnerability and aloneness.Chris Reeve is usually ignored in reviews. I don't know why. He's rarely anything but bland, but this is by far his best performance, and he invests his character with ambition, confusion, fear, and compassion -- not an easy role. The scene in the hotel bedroom with Kathy Baker, in which she seduces him knowing that behind that facade of journalistic objectivity lies a man who would just love to get it on with her, whether or not he realizes it. She demonstrates how she made it with her first john and makes Reeve play the partner. The silly made-up dialog fades and is replaced by "Natural Woman" on the sound track. The two have a relaxed, enjoyable-looking, mutually appreciative little love scene. It's a pretty good movie and involves us emotionally in several different ways. Alas, as I say, the end is almost an embarrassment. The bumbling Reeve character turns into a genius, and other characters into the fools they never were. Don't let that stop you from watching this.