IMDb user comments for
Streetwalkin' (1985)

advertisement

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Index

7 comments in total

---

5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Sgt. Kay Howard gets topless, and she looks good, 5 April 2006

Author: movieman_kev from United States

Before she was a member of Baltimore's Homicide division, Melissa Leo was Cookie a teenage runaway who ends up turning tricks in New York after meeting the personable Duke (Dale Midkiff, best known for his lead in "Pet Semetary"), who lays some good old pimpology on this naive innocent girl, much to the chagrin of Cookie's brother who also ran away from home with her. One day, Cookie wises up after her fellow hooker friend gets the stuffing beat out of her and tries to leave, but Duke is on her tail. This movie could have been something special due to the talent involved,but as it plays out, it turns out pretty lame. The story is nothing special and goes in circles for too long, Midkiff is far from a convincing heavy, and I started to get bored before it was over The film is only worth a curiosity view to see TV stars past and future (the aforementioned Leo topless, Khandi Alexander before"Newsradio", and Julie 'Catwoman' Newmmar in the Queen Bee part). That alone raises it up a grade for me.

Eye Candy: Melissa Leo, Samantha Fox, and a few extras get topless

Where I Saw It: Showtime Extreme

My Grade: C

---

3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Not without merit, 26 June 2005

Author: John Seal from Oakland CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Streetwalkin' is no classic, but it does have some points in its favor. The film's gritty ambiance is certainly of tremendous value, and the undervalued Melissa Leo (21 Grams) delivers a reasonably good performance as Cookie, a young woman forced onto the streets when she runs away from home and her family refuses to take her back. She's also responsible for her annoying younger brother (Randall Batinkoff)and is soon in the grips of psychotic pimp Duke (Dale Midkiff), who likes to beat his women when he isn't selling them. The film's screenplay, a collaboration between Robert Alden and director Joan Freeman, takes a determinedly feminist stance, with all the male characters basically being scum. Alden and Freeman's only other credit is the nearly unwatchable rock and rock fable Satisfaction, which makes Streetwalkin' look like Citizen Kane in comparison. All in all, an interesting exploitation film that belongs more to the sleazy 70s than to the corporate 80s.

---

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Oh, my goodness., 23 September 2006

Author: lambiepie-2 from Los Angeles, CA

I forgot about this film until the other night, one of the premium cable channels dug this up. Then I remembered it. It was not an academy award winning drama by any stretch of the imagination and the best thing about this film is watching actors who went on to bigger and better things.

That is the beauty of a film like this...you look at it from "back in the day" and say, "Hey isn't that so-and so ... who was in such and such?" There's a lot of that here.

The story is simple, girl leaves home, turns street walker to survive on the mean, dirty, slimy streets. The small twist is that she runs away with her little brother. And you've got Antonio "huggy bear" Fargas playing...gasp...a pimp! Whata stretch! You'll get to see the street competition with pimps, drug use, cheesy lines, slapping around your ho's ...all sorts of things like that before Disney got a hold of street walkers to make them look super clean and cute.

Yes, this movie consists of all the things that made movies like this a nice springboard and paycheck for up and coming actors to cut their teeth with.

Low budget, low acting film.

---

2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Exploitation, sex and violence..., 14 November 2000

Author: drhannibal666 (drhannibal666@hotmail.com) from Montreal

In a sex-and-violence film that emphasizes the physical abuse of young women, director Joan Freeman may raise the shackles as well as the hackles of her distaff viewing audience. Cookie (Melissa Leo) is a young runaway who arrives in New York City with her brother in tow and ends up working as a prostitute for the apparently easy-going Duke (Dale Midkiff).

Everything seems fine, at least as much as can be expected, until one of Duke's streetwalkers threatens to quit, and he nearly beats her to death. Sickened and shocked, Cookie runs away with an infuriated Duke hot in pursuit and unsparing of anyone who gets in his way. The murders, the beatings, the stabbings, and other forms of mayhem weigh heavily in the plot's sequences.

My Rating:2/10

---

the Citizen Kane of prostitution films, 21 September 2006

Author: c bahr from United States

I recently had the pleasure of viewing this work of art and I was utterly spellbound. Every second of this film felt like a miracle on the screen of my television. By the time the credits rolled, I was breathless. A prime example of perfect casting, the characters went from working the streets of The Big Apple to finding a place in my heart. The plot is everything you could dream of. A high school dropout (Melissa Leo) ventures to New York City with her younger brother and becomes a prostitute. 'Nuff said, great movie. It really is a shame that this film will never be seen on DVD. I would enjoy hearing commentary tracks from director Joan Freeman and co-star Dale Midkiff( best known for his role in Pet Semetary). I put this gem on my personal top ten list; above Titanic and Wizard of Oz. If you are fortunate enough to find this movie in the $1 bin of your local video store, don't hesitate to buy it. This is the Gone With The Wind of 80s sleaze films. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll watch it again...

---

1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Once again Racist White and Black stereotypes depict helpless white women, Black pimps, and a super human white boy that can in the movie beat up Black and Hispanic gangsters, 19 June 2006

Author: bill-singleton from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This has got to be one of the all time worst movies that I have ever seen. Duke, a white pimp, seem to be the unstoppable boogie man who can escape two other gangster who have him at gun point, manage to kill three other experienced Black pimps and survive a car that hit him at full speed, after a young boy hits him while he is running away from the car.

Black men, as usu sally, are portrayed as cowards, who are not allowed to whip a white pimps rear end, at least on film. In a real situation this Duke would not have a chance in hell of starting a fight in a mixed or black bar of leaving there alive.

I am sure that only naive white folks or racist would fine this scenario plausible. But it does not remotely resemble any aspect that approaches credibility.

---

2 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun and Action packed - 80's Style Drama, 17 October 2001
Author: Are-Jay from Vancouver, BC, Canada

This movie is a good depiction of life on the streets as prostitution is often glorified in other movies (eg Pretty Woman). This movie shows the grim reality and gruesomeness of a street walking prostitute. It shows the rough relationship between Pimp and Hooker. There are many scences in this movie that are funny too! One scene is where the pimp Duke comes back to the apartment looking for Cookie who got him abducted. Here in the apartment he rips the whole place apart and acts like a madman - quite funny! Then another scene shows Cookie and another prostitute forcing a client to act like a cow as they humiliate him. All in All, not a movie of the modern day, but still worth a watch. The action packed chase at the end is really adrenalizing as you feel as if you are in the movie too! Not to forget lots of violence in this film.

---

---

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	External reviews
Plot keywords	Main details	Your user comments
Your vote history