Too many fans seem to be blown away

That was an excellent one.

not as good as all the hype

Dreadfully Boring

I saw this movie in early 90s, and it stayed with me, the plight of street kids, their small pleasures, their drug addiction and especially the sad ending of this movie.It is cruel what life can do to abandoned children. A fine spirited person like Dawn (Applegate) deserves better, but doesn't get it.You'd watch this movie for Applegate - She radiates in this role. The movie could've been better shot and wish a better quality copy is available on DVD. What I could get to watch was ripped from a VCR.If you don't like sad endings - skip this movie - You'd be rattled at the sad reality of street kids and their exploitation.But, this movie deserves far higher than the 5.5 score it has in IMDb right now. I'd rate it at 8.

Director Katt Shea deserves a lot of credit for "Streets", a gritty, honest, heartfelt little movie that serves as more than mere exploitation, creating a hard hitting portrayal of runaway youth in Venice, California, personalizing the story by focusing on Dawn, played by TV star Christina Applegate in a wonderful, tour-de-force performance. Dawn is a heroin addicted, teenage prostitute attacked by a john, and who forms a friendship with a kid named Sy (David Mendenhall) who distracted the cop long enough for her to get away. The budding relationship between Dawn and Sy forms a solid basis for the rest of the movie, written by Shea and producer Andy Ruben, which devastatingly illustrates the kind of hard scrabble existence led by people like Dawn. Applegate delivers a performance that is alternately tough, feisty, sympathetic, kind, and vulnerable - but, most of all, it's believable. Mendenhall also does well as the nice guy who is new to the life being lived by Dawn and her contemporaries, who can't really identify with them as he is definitely not of their world. Enjoyable contributions are also made by Patrick Richwood as Bob, Aron Eisenberg as Roach, Mel Castelo as "Elf", and Alan Stock as Allen. This coming from Concorde, it's still exploitative enough for those watching who expect a certain degree of trash. Applegate does bare her breasts for a scene, but this particular scene is played for romance rather than just sex. And the ongoing subplot with the deranged john, a motorcycle cop named Lumley (played with convincing intensity by Eb Lottimer), is standard enough stuff, although the viewer may be taken aback by Lumley's home made weapon that metes out brutal punishment. The music score by Aaron Davis is supremely effective, as is the beautiful and haunting composition "Dawn's Theme" sung by Elizabeth "E.G." Daily. The use of the locations is excellent, and in general this is quite well made and stylish. Although mostly played (very) seriously, it's not without its humorous moments. Cameos are made by ladies who'd previously starred for director Shea: Kay Lenz ("Stripped to Kill") and Starr Andreeff ("Dance of the Damned"). This is genuinely potent stuff, right up to its riveting ending, and worth watching, both for Applegate fans interested in seeing her show off her dramatic chops earlier in her career and for exploitation film aficionados. It's too good to miss. Eight out of 10.

A psychotic cop in Southern California is targeting prostitutes for execution; meanwhile, a pretty blonde urchin tries getting her life together. I rented this because I was very impressed with director Katt Shea's work on the underrated "Poison Ivy" and I was not disappointed. The psycho stuff doesn't really jell with the homeless kids angle, but it's a commendable attempt to mix genres, and Christina Applegate gives a superb, surprisingly serious lead performance (her final scene in a bus depot is riveting and heart-rending). Much better than I was expecting, "Streets" is a good, hearty try at both social drama and crime thriller. **1/2 from ****

I'm not exactly sure how to rank or rate this film. On one hand, it gives a gritty account of life on the streets, with good performances, as it focuses primarily on the exploits of a teen prostitute (well played by Applegate), as she escapes from a killer and forges a relationship with straight kid Sy (Mendenhall).On the other hand, it also focuses too much on the psycho cop and features too many of his killings as he tries to make his way to Applegate and keep her from revealing his secret. He tries to get the other street kids to tell him where she is, and either kills them or maims them in some way if they don't. This aspect of the movie all but ruins it. A minimal amount on this aspect would have sufficed.If I had to rate this movie, I'd probably give it ** out of ****.