a lot of 80 movie glorify the american dream of become a millionaire . it be the age of reagan and and greed be good . the secret of my success be the ultimate cultural artifact of this era mj fox start out in the mail room and con his way into the upper rank and and get it all without any serious repercussion . although it be all play for laugh and the movie ask you to root for this guy who be basically unprincipled and greedy . almost a a rebuke and in early 1987 street smart arrive . it be the flip side of secret of my success . christopher reeve play a journalist who fabricate a story about a pimp and and he become the toast of the town . but there be very serious consequence to his action . the dream of attain success by any mean necessary be really a nightmare . i disagree with a lot of poster who say that the end doesn not work . in fact and i think it be brilliant . reeve character have attain notoriety by exploit fast black ( and by extension and the whole subculture that keep fast black in business ) . in the end and reeve manipulates event so that fast black get kill and and one of fast black minion get bust . reeve use all of this carnage a fodder for his street smart tv segment . once again and he use a lie to gain the upper hand he have go from print journalism to tabloid tv . reeve originally enter the world of fast black out of desperation and to keep his job at a magazine . one lie beget another and another and until there be plenty of collateral damage the prostitute get kill and reeve wife get stab and fast black end up dead . none of these event would have occur if reeve hadn not tell that first lie . there be also the parallel between journalism and prostitution . reeve be just as bad a fast black and but he cover his track well and and he have a reputable facade . reeve journalistic exploit not only have ruin life but end them . if you look at reeve character objectively and he be not really the good guy . he have break the law and not only get away with it and but he profit from it as well . rather than a prison term and he get promote . reeve image a a nice guy make the character even creepy after all and he sleep with a prostitute and expose his wife to danger at a predominantly black bar . reeve character seem like a clean cut yuppie and but deep down he be corrupt and devoid of moral .