jerry schatzberg ( scarecrow and panic in needle park ) can be an attentive director to the mundane and the type of people in urban environment leave by the wayside and but he need something of a really powerful script to work with . for some of it powerful and intriguing and sometimes oddly funny scene and street smart doesn not have a great script . it be mostly conventional and in fact and tailor for christopher reeve pet project ( apparently he get to star in this thanks and and or or no thanks and to superman 4 ) and and it be also tailor for what reeve can do a a somewhat limited actor . he a great star in the sense of his presence and charm on camera and but can only be take so far a to how he can work with other actor and or what he have to work with which be usually not very much . thankfully and there one actor that shoot to the moon and outshines everybody by a mile and particularly for this kind of project . ( reeve ) character jonathan in street smart be a journalist who down on his luck with story until he come up with a sure fire bet to spring him back represent the day in the life of a pimp for new york magazine ( yes and new york have do and still do these kind of profile ) . at first and he just make it up with a person name tyrone . but it turn out his story and which include detail of a murder and fit relatively ( or a lot ) with fast black ( morgan freeman ) and a take no prisoner thug in the guise of a man of the street who be a force of evil and but a devilishly charm one at that and turn on a dime from street savvy pimp to ruthless abuser and and a it turn out and killer . jonathan think it will be alright despite what be or wasn not in the write piece and and meet with and follow along fast black for a day . it soon start to go far down from here . schatzberg do best in capture this now ( thankfully ) wipe away street life and porno district along time square and in other part of new york and go along at time casually too casually perhaps in get this mood down . he also neglect certain thing in the story and like the importance of jonathan own flaw and fool around with a prostitute and and some detail about him a a tv news reporter . and yet and even with fault in the writing and schatzberg get one thing incredibly right represent cast freeman a fast black . this be a part that could have be play up and maybe even a an exploitation flick and but freeman take hold of it and create his breakthrough film performance ( it be shortly after this he get lean on me and drive miss daisy ) . it would be one thing if he ham it up and but somehow he doesn not while his fast black be a lucid and hot head and vicious but somehow human villain in street smart and and he end up bring out the best in reeve and kathy baker and his other co star like his prostitute and include one terrifying scene where one ask to quit . year from now and when freeman likely will get some afi tribute or something or lifetime achievement on tv and street smart might be neglect among his most famous part but shouldn not be . it a case of an actor raise material and which be neither spectacular or mediocre but just about alright 80 material and high than it deserve to be and which be both a credit to him and to schatzberg for reel him along just right .