Street Smart
1987 · Movie · R · 97 min · ★ 6.0 · 69% critics
A struggling New York reporter invents a gritty magazine piece to get ahead, only to discover that his made-up story closely matches a real criminal case. As the lie spirals, he is pulled into a dangerous situation he can no longer control.
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Details
- Years
- 1987
- Release date
- 1987-03-20
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 69/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.0/10 (87 votes)
- Budget
- $6,000,000
About
You may like this if you enjoy grimy 1980s urban crime dramas with a journalism angle, somewhere between The Public Eye and Best Seller; Not for you if you need airtight plotting or very likable leads.
Pros: vivid New York backdrop; watchable moments; gritty premise | Cons: implausible story turns; thin character work; weak lead performance
Themes
- new york city
- journalist
- prostitute
- court case
- pimp
- lie
- magazine
- reporter
- racism
- streetwise
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actor · 1988 · nominated
Cast & crew
Christopher Reeve
as Jonathan Fisher
Kathy Baker
as Punchy
Mimi Rogers
as Alison Parker
Jay Patterson
as Leonard Pike
Andre Gregory
as Ted Avery
Morgan Freeman
as Leo "Fast Black" Smalls, Jr.
Anna Maria Horsford
as Harriet
Frederick Rolf
as Joel Davis
Erik King
as Reginald "Reggie" Liggens
Michael J. Reynolds
as Art Sheffield
Directed by Jerry Schatzberg