Good movie but grossly overrated

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Man, city politics is probably the most soul-killing, mind numbing public spectacle we humans witness from time to time. As evidenced in Street Fight, the chronicle of Sharpe James/Corey Booker mayoral race, one clearly sees the struggle between the bought James & the idealistic Booker fighting for a city that quite possibly doesn't care how the election will turn out since the outcome, to some, is obvious. Next to Illinois, New Jersey has the stench of political corruption on the city level so much so John Sayles created a fictional NJ town in his film, City of Hope, to showcase the rampant malaise affecting his berg. Now in this documentary, we see the corruption & graft in the flesh and we're fascinated by it but not really surprised. Corey Booker has gone on to become a state senator and even his 'successful' stint as a mayor is being recalled as problematic by the electorate which put him there. Can anyone escape the taint of the public calling?

There is an old saying in Newark, New Jersey that "the only way that an incumbent leaves office is either death or conviction." Street Fight, a documentary following the 2002 mayoral election of Newark works to address and highlight that issue. Marshall Curry, the director of the documentary, follows Cory Booker, the challenger to long-term incumbent, Sharpe James. Booker, the son of civil rights activists, grew up in a predominantly white suburb north of Newark. He was a high school all-American football player and graduated from Yale University. He attempts to unseat James because of the lack of change he sees from the current mayor. He works to unite the people through a grassroots movement against James, the man who has been in office since 1970.Street Fight attempts to reveal the harsh realities and the pseudo-democracy that exists in modern day local politics. Curry argues that local politics are not as fair as they seem to be, a claim that he supports with solid evidence through Booker's campaign. Though Curry only shows footage in support of Booker, it is not difficult to distinguish the actual differences between both candidates' approaches.Booker approaches his campaign the best way that a challenger against a long-term incumbent can, through a mainly grass-roots movement. He spends his time with the people who he knows have been the most negatively affected by James, the poor and the working class. Sharpe clearly favors the higher class above the lower and Booker cleverly uses that to his advantage. He realizes that he must first get his name out to the masses, so he does it in the most reasonable, old-fashioned way, door-to-door campaigning. By continuously showing Booker actively interacting with citizens of Newark and expressing his concerns, Curry enforces that Booker is running an honest, down-to-earth campaign. He does not waste his efforts trying to convince those who he knows he cannot, rather he takes a more logical step and attempts to acquaint himself with the common people. In a further attempt to connect with the people, Booker had been living Brick Towers, one of the worst public housing buildings in Newark.Not only does Curry assert that Booker runs a clean, honest campaign through his actions, he reveals that James is cheating his way to victory. One of the film's main arguments is that Sharpe James used threats and force to bully Booker and his supporters into ending his campaign. This also furthers the claim that local politics are an ugly business and that politicians will go to any length to secure their positions. Throughout the campaign, Booker, Curry, supporters and other camera men are assaulted by police who support James. Though they are not doing anything illegal, the police interrupt them under orders given by the mayor. Furthermore, many local businesses that have expressed support of Booker whether it be through word of mouth or signs in their stores, are threatened with being closed down by the city if they do not revoke their beliefs. These are not empty threats either, as a local car shop that had expressed prolonged support of Booker had been shut down by the government. Larger businesses are threatened with losing their government contracts, potentially losing them thousands of dollars.Booker and his supporters are assaulted and threatened not only indirectly by James and his hired muscle, but also directly. Curry portrays how James expresses hate towards Booker by using empty accusations and hateful speech. James goes to every extent to solidify his position, even slander Booker's name with claims that are not even true. He begins by claiming that Booker is a republican instead of a democrat, a claim that has no political backing. Eventually, Curry highlights the irrationality of James' claims by acknowledging that he goes to ridiculous extents to attack Booker. The mayor accuses James, clearly an African American, as being Jewish, white, and also gay. The most controversial claim that he makes results in a central theme of the documentary; James questions whether or not Booker is "black enough" to fairly represent the people. As uninformed as the claim is, it brings up one of the most discussed topics of the campaign. James, a man born and raised in Newark, is concerned that Booker is not the right kind of man to lead the city because of his upbringing and light skin.Ultimately, Curry concludes that politics are far more than who has the best agenda. Elections go far beyond who has done the best campaigning or who has collected the most funds. As Street Fight documents, many times elections come down to personal battles, with incumbents having an unfair advantage due to their connections and resources. In the resulting election of the documentary, Cory Booker ultimately loses by only around one thousand votes. Eventually, Booker does run again in the 2006 mayoral elections and wins by a landslide, proving that the political system is not as broken as Curry makes it out to seem; it is important to note that Sharpe James did not run for reelection that year. In the end, issues in politics will always exist. Campaigns will almost never be seen as fair. No matter how people attempt to address it, corruption and politicians go hand in hand. More often than not, election as close as the one between Booker and James may end up being nothing more than a street fight.

It is not often that you get to see what goes on in the day to day of a campaign. In Street Fight, we see a newcomer trying to unseat an incumbent that has a 16-year hold on office, and is not afraid to use all the power at his disposal to crush this upstart. In addition, those who have been feeding at the trough of city government for those 16 years do not want their gravy train stopped. Dirty politics, dirty government, and a dirty city badly in need of repair. It makes for a compelling directorial debut and a story that should make all of us want to fight for the person we most want to see in office. It takes more than a vote to change a government!

This film won the audience choice award at the Tribeca Film Festival, and it certainly deserved it. Amazingly enough, this is Marshall Curry's first film. I truly hope to see more films from him.While the subject of national and international politics has been the subject of many critically acclaimed documentaries, Street Fight concentrates on the 2002 Mayoral election in one urban city, Newark, N.J., which is wracked by homelessness, drug addiction and poverty. The movie is perhaps one of the most compelling and interesting documentaries I have ever seen. The film's title is quite appropriate because Television ads are meaningless, but rather these hard-fought battles are won on the street.The film's director tried to follow the campaigns of both the incumbent Mayor, Sharpe James, who has been Mayor for 16 years and the campaign of the upstart 1st term Councilman, Cory Booker. While the Booker campaign welcomes the filmmaker, Mayor James is less welcoming and outwardly hostile. The film quickly evolves into a compelling David vs. Goliath epic.You'll watch as Mayor James instructs the Newark police officers act like Storm Troopers intimidating and assaulting campaign workers blatantly violating state and federal law. You'll be outraged as you watch those same police officers attack the film's director in broad daylight on the sidewalks in an attempt to shut down the documentary. Mayor James paints himself as a political villain more despicable than Senator Joseph Paine from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". The scary part is that the film is not fictional. Had it not been recorded on film, you would not believe it. It's not often that a film angers me. This one did.Booker tries to campaign on the issues, but we see how effective James' tactics are. Both candidates are Black, but Mayor James constantly refers to Booker as light-skinned and "white" because Booker was educated at Stanford, Yale Law School and was a Rhodes Scholar. Looking at the numerous dirty tricks employed in the campaign, it is no wonder that Sharpe James has never lost an election. Although Booker loses the election, he wins the moral battle and the audience by running an ethical and admirable campaign. The closing scene is Booker's unveiling of his 2006 campaign, which received an ovation from the Tribeca audience.