If you only know Christopher Reeve as Superman, then you're in for a surprise here. Jerry Schatzberg's "Street Smart" casts Reeve as a reporter who writes a fictional article about a pimp to meet a schedule, only to see things spin out of control when it turns out that the article sounds like the story of a real pimp.
The streets are as much a character as any of the people. Lined with prostitutes and porno theaters, these thoroughfares look like a prominent reminder of an era gone by (I suspect that the gritty stuff has since gotten replaced with "nice" stuff). And then of course, there's Morgan Freeman. He got his first Academy Award-nominated role with this movie, playing the pimp. It's one of his most intense roles. He's the sort of character who makes you feel as if you're walking on eggshells.
It's not a masterpiece, but if you're in for something rough, then this should be the movie for you. The rest of the cast includes Kathy Baker, Mimi Rogers and Andre Gregory. Schatzberg also directed "A Panic in Needle Park" (Al Pacino's first lead role) and was in a relationship with Faye Dunaway for a few years.
As for the ads, while Reeve's character is interviewing some people in one scene, there's a video store behind them, and the window has a poster for the Looney Tunes Golden Jubilee collection, and also a Ghostbusters poster.
The streets are as much a character as any of the people. Lined with prostitutes and porno theaters, these thoroughfares look like a prominent reminder of an era gone by (I suspect that the gritty stuff has since gotten replaced with "nice" stuff). And then of course, there's Morgan Freeman. He got his first Academy Award-nominated role with this movie, playing the pimp. It's one of his most intense roles. He's the sort of character who makes you feel as if you're walking on eggshells.
It's not a masterpiece, but if you're in for something rough, then this should be the movie for you. The rest of the cast includes Kathy Baker, Mimi Rogers and Andre Gregory. Schatzberg also directed "A Panic in Needle Park" (Al Pacino's first lead role) and was in a relationship with Faye Dunaway for a few years.
As for the ads, while Reeve's character is interviewing some people in one scene, there's a video store behind them, and the window has a poster for the Looney Tunes Golden Jubilee collection, and also a Ghostbusters poster.