"Right on target and quite moving... From the amazingly forthright interviews, one gets in a very brief span a feel for many of the complex issues associated with inner-city, black poverty."—Professor John P. Caskey, Author, 'Fringe Banking: Check Cashing Outlets, Pawnshops, and the Poor'

"Portraying the pawnshop as a symbol for survival [the film] explores both economic and psychological marginalization - and possibly reveals more about the recent riots than all the newscast footage of that conflagaration. It possesses a poignancy and a power that last long after its viewing."—Sundance Film Festival

"A gentle polemic... Interviews with people in the community sketch out a world in which options are as limited as credit."—Bay Guardian

"Fascinating! Skyler never editorializes; there's no narration, just a march of faces explaining, in oblique terms, the effects of poverty and racial discrimination on their daily existence. Amazingly, the bleakness of the burnt-out vacant lots is tempered by determination and defiant self-esteem. Should be required viewing for any public office holder."—Billboard

"This mesmerizing look at a slice of life in a hostile urban environment has much to offer for both general audiences and classroom viewers."—Booklist