Review: Street Smart

Magazine journo Christopher Reeve struggles to find a story to impress his snobby editor (Andre Gregory), but finally comes up with the idea of doing a story on a pimp. Unfortunately, his attempts at getting the likes of hooker Kathy Baker to talk to him go nowhere and girlfriend Mimi Rogers is worried about his safety in such seedy surroundings. Desperate for a story, he eventually decides to just make up the story about a fictional pimp named Tyrone.

 

Things become complicated when a crusading prosecutor (Jay Patterson) claims that the story is clearly based on a pimp named Fast Black (Morgan Freeman), who is currently on trial for the death of a ‘john’, a second degree murder charge. Reeve (who eventually moves into TV journalism) protests his innocence, but refuses to divulge his real source...because obviously there is none, and he’d get into even more hot poo if anyone found out. Needless to say, Patterson doesn’t believe a word he says and subpoenas him. And then he finally meets Fast Black, via Baker, whom he becomes involved with (causing Rogers to dump him). Fast Black decides to talk to the reporter for real, but wants him to provide an alibi for him to get off his charges. And Reeve only gets in deeper and deeper from there. Erik King plays Fast Black’s gopher Reggie, whilst Anna Maria Horsford plays another of Fast Black’s ho’s.

 

Morgan Freeman is one of those actors like Gregory Peck who lend a respectability and quiet, thoughtful authority to just about any film they’re in. Also like Peck, Freeman’s attempts to portray villainous characters have been uneven. However, both actors have had at least one rare exception to the rule (Peck’s was “Duel in the Sun”), and this 1987 crime-drama from director Jerry Schatzberg (Underrated flicks like “Scarecrow” and  “Panic in Needle Park”) is definitely one of Freeman’s best-ever performances. Ain’t no folksy narration in this one, folks. Freeman’s a mean, volatile sonofabitch pimp, capable of snapping at any moment.

 

For her part, Kathy Baker might not be the first person you’d think of to play a hooker, but just as she did in playing a junkie in “Clean and Sober”, the talented actress makes it work nonetheless. It’s an interesting film, with other fine performances Andre Gregory (who plays a complete schmuck, but a likeable one), Jay Patterson (as a morally upright but jerk prosecutor), and Erik King (love those sunglasses, dude!), but Freeman’s the one you’ll remember. He’s never been so smooth, dangerous, and unpredictable on screen. He certainly wipes the floor with Christopher Reeve, who along with the icy Mimi Rogers, don’t make for much of a couple on screen. In fact, the late Reeve (a personal hero of mine off-screen) always floundered on-screen without his red cape and red undies. He’s a pretty vacant presence on screen here, in a passive role that doesn’t really help him. Sure, he looks the part of a TV journo, but that’s it.

 

This was apparently a pet project for Reeve, and he managed to get Cannon studios to do it with him in return for making “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” for them. Unfortunately, whilst never dull, the film still isn’t good enough to make up for having made the awful “Superman IV”. In fact, at times it’s a bit tough to swallow, especially towards the end, which sometimes goes against the gritty look of the film. It doesn’t help that Reeve’s character is frankly not very likeable and even less intelligent. Playing a similar character in the later “Shattered Glass”, Hayden Christensen did a much better job of selling such a seemingly stupid, lazy individual.

 

Still, Freeman is dynamite and the film has some strong moments, though the ending disappoints. At any rate, it’s one of the best and most ambitious films from Cannon, who I guess were taking a break from making Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson cheapies. The screenplay is by David Freeman (“The Border”), who apparently based the film on his experience working for New York Magazine.

 

Rating: B-