Bene Cumb Stories concerning different minorities include always some intrigues and scenes not comprehensible to "majority" audience, but if they are subject to general ideas and values, they obtain wide popularity and understanding. Here, in Strapped, the leading character becomes serene within a limited space and time, but still continuing hustling, and all this is not convincing to me. The types he meets are distinct and colorful, but the balance of their deeds and thoughts is often illogical (particularly with aging Sam, although their dialogue is the most interesting in the movie), and combining stereotypes, gay-4-pay elements and sophisticated reasoning does not always fit. True, if we had do with a student work, it would be rated high, as the idea is distinct and most of acting is good, but as for a creation by a "ready-made" filmmaker - too pretentious and fabulous. Of course, I realize that I do not belong to the target audience, but so it seems that Strapped does not deal with human values in a general manner without leaving gay elements and attitudes too visible and "constraining".

Remy_Azhary The whole man-whore/hustler theme about this film is just a backdrop to what is more important as a message put in this film. Sure, there are scenes of sexual escapades but there's also an analytical perspective to the story. This film is more of a journey of a young man as he 'hustled' through the supposedly maze-like apartment building (as he'd called it) and met with different and interesting characters throughout the movie, and of course his sexual escapades ensued.The brilliance about this film is that it's more like an anthology account of the man's journey from sexual encounter to the next and lessons in life that he gained from each one of them. Even though the story took place at a span of one night we could see the man's growing maturity and his take on life and love. And what's clever about it is that his learning phase never felt rushed.To add to that, the hustler showed that he was quite a learned person as he could read body languages and even recognize a small figurine of a griffin that I suppose not many people would know about.As hot as each of the sexual scenes was the 'sex' part served as merely the backdrop to the man's incredible journey in finding purpose to his life.All in all, I'd say this is one film critics and people should not overlook. I just wish I could see the continuation of the relationship between the young man and Gary.

Guanyu4u F I admire TAL-Releasing brand in the entertainment business and their dedication to focus on LGBT issues in their work; we still need that in our era but I got to admit that some of their titles are way too shallow and depend on mere sexual plots without a solid core; this movie isn't one of them. The movie start chic with a good-looking, even sexy, main lead (even guys who are not into twinks would agree) who work as a hustler. After his session with a client, he tried to locate the building exit not knowing that the next turn would bring him more existing encounters. I should firstly praise the director's work, he really tried to squeeze the talent from his actors, an effort quite shown throughout the film. The lightning might be a bit dim but I found it matching most of the atmospheres in the movie. The movie has a timeless vibe - watchers from different times could still relate to the movie stories and the events has a sense of dream-like effect which add to the artistic value of this work. The sex scenes aren't really explicit comparing to other movies in the same genre or with similar story-line. I'll give them in terms of intensity 6 out of 10; I find this quite refreshing. The movie has a message, for viewers who like this kind of things. Still, you could enjoy it with no need to analyze the events. It could be a personal story for the protagonist or for you, it is your choice. I recommend it for a quite night view or with a new date.

mandeli-n O-kay... I hadn't read any reviews prior watching, so for a blank page like me THAT was a torture to watch. I don't know if its done for a reason. It could be - that's what I thought in the end, when the main idea became clear. Anyway, miraculously, "Strapped" turned up to be a highly rewarding movie, and while I still can't say I enjoyed watching it, I don't suppose one hour and a half is too high a price for what you get in the end.Thank you, Joseph Graham. That was truly a pleasure when a maze turned into a labyrinth.