Fresh (1994)

Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.

Director:

Boaz Yakin

Writer:

Boaz Yakin

Stars:

Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Nelson	...	Fresh
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Esteban
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Sam
N'Bushe Wright	...	Nichole
Ron Brice	...	Corky
Jean-Claude La Marre	...	Jake (as Jean LaMarre)
José Zúñiga	...	Lt. Perez
Luis Lantigua	...	Chuckie
Yul Vazquez	...	Chillie
Cheryl Freeman	...	Aunt Frances
Anthony Thomas	...	Red
Curtis McClarin	...	Darryl (as Curtis L. McClarin)
Charles Malik Whitfield	...	Smokey
Víctor González	...	Herbie
Guillermo Díaz	...	Spike

Storyline

Fresh (Sean Nelson) is a 12-year-old drug dealer who finds himself trapped in a web of poverty, corruption and racial tension in Brooklyn, New York. When his drug-addict sister Nichole (N'Bushe Wright) starts sleeping with local drug lord Esteban (Giancarlo Esposito), Fresh calls upon the skills he learned playing chess with his alcoholic father and speed-chess champion Sam (Samuel L. Jackson) and devises a complex strategy that will free both himself and his sister.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | urban setting | african american | drug dealing | drug lord | 

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Taglines:

Risking it all, he invents new rules... to beat the odds in a deadly game of survival.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for intense, realistic depiction of urban violence, and for drug content, pervasive language, and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sean Nelson (Fresh) had just turned thirteen when the filming of the movie started.

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Goofs

In the final scene at the park, the same blonde girl walks behind Fresh twice (the first time just as he makes it to the chess table, then again once he has sat down; by then the girl, walking at an uninterrupted pace, should've been out of the shot).

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Quotes

Fresh: Don't Aunt Frances think you ain't nothing. She think you're something.
Nichole: Aunt Frances is a fuckin' saint. Aunt Frances loves every damn dog on the street the same as she loves me. Ain't no shit to be loved by no fuckin' saint.

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Connections

Referenced in Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

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Soundtracks

Jesus Children of America
Written by Stevie Wonder
Published by Black Bull Music/Jobete Music Co.
Performed by Johnny Gill
Produced by Chuckii Booker for Big Dog Productions
Courtesy of Motown Records

User Reviews

Checkmate!

"Fresh" (Nelson), the title character and a black kid in his early teens, is a runner for low level drug distributors in the mean streets of NYC with a plan to get out of the ghetto. He plays speed chess with his estranged father and stashes money in a tin can but his plan goes well beyond just saving for a bus ticket. "Fresh" offers good production value, par performances, somewhat stereotypical characters, and lots of grit. However, what sets this critically lauded flick apart from its peers is a human drama with a clever storyline which transcend the usual stuck-in-the-ghetto flicks full of sensational crime stuff. An engaging watch for those into drug/ghetto/crime flicks. (B)

Details

Country:

USA France

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

2 September 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fresh

Filming Locations:

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$8,094,616

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,094,616

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lumière Pictures, Miramax

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1