Chameleon Street (1989)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Wendell B. Harris Jr.

Writer:

Wendell B. Harris Jr. (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

William Douglas Street is bored with his life. Working for his father is getting to him, his wife wants more money...

Plot Keywords:

African American | Impostor | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Wendell B. Harris Jr.	...	William Douglas Street
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dave Barber	...	Himself
Marti Bowling	...	Marti
Alfred Bruce Bradley	...	Smooth
Mano Breckenridge	...	Neelish Ratnayaka
Anthony Ennis	...	Curtis
Amina Fakir	...	Tatiana
Maurice Givens	...	Cool (these are my brother's clothes)
Anita Gordon	...	Darlene Street
Gary Irwin	...	Dr. Hardy
Davon Kiley	...	Dr. Hand
Dan Lawton	...	Aldo 'Jerry Lewis' Falco
Angela Leslie	...	Gabrielle
Paula McGee	...	Herself
Dimitri Muganias	...	Robespierre
Marty Smith	...	Lawyer in restaurant
Henry Watkins	...	Eugene Raymond
Coleman Young	...	Himself

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Trivia:

Wendell B. Harris Jr. set many of the scenes from Chameleon Street in his native Flint, Michigan. In the scene in the van where a large skyscraper can be seen in the background, that is the Genesee Towers building on S. Saginaw Street in downtown Flint.

Quotes:

William Douglas Street: It amazes me that whites avidly seek after all the accoutrements of black style. You pickle your bodies in gallons of tanning lotion, you broil your pale flesh brown in the tanning spas at great expense and all the while maintaining such a marvelous contempt for black people. You wily Caucasians.

Movie Connections:

References "Love Connection" (1983)

This is a refreshing, extremely well written comedy based on the very real exploits of an amazing character. It is a very fun picture.

Chameleon Street is a very amusing look at an intriguing character, who seems to find peace in recreating himself through various occupational, and identity transformations. He brilliantly masquerades as a number of professionals, and takes his audience through a thrill ride of elaborate schemes to make money, while carefully concealing his true identity. Ultimately, he is unable to escape his own character flaws, which cause his elaborate plot to unravel, thread by thread, before his very eyes. Although other stories have chronicled the lives of impostors, none have been told in such a refreshingly comical manner. It is a treat to watch.