Strapped

This film is about a hustler who gets into one encounter after another in an apartment building, somewhere in America.

The writer of "Strapped" put a lot of effort into making a plot that has a message. It is about a man who looks for sexual adventures continuously. He never looks back on his past encounters. Fortune has it that he has five encounters with different individuals who are wildly different from one another. These clients, and the different ways the hustler interacts with them add depth to the plot. The final encounter is the emotionally satisfying, as the hustler finally finds that special magic that transforms him. "Strapped" is a little boring at first, but steadily improves throughout the film.

For a gay themed movie, this is extremely polished and well-done; perfect acting, great editing, compelling sound-track and most of all an excellent script with on-point dialogue. Given my review is "late in the game" I won't bother with a synopsis. I will say that for a plot of the day in the life of a male prostitute, this absolutely gave the viewer something extraordinary and atypical of the genre (because yes...it's been done before, as admitted in the film itself with the references to "My Own Private Idaho"). There are many layers to this film and in fact to the lead character, as we find out through his acting AND the dialogue that he indeed takes on the personas of the people he is about to have sex with (and he could only accomplish this if he were a very polished actor...which he definitely appears to be). This film delves into the human psyche and asks the question if we are ALL pretending/trying to be someone we are not/putting on a show for others. A very well done and IMHO underrated film.

I just saw this film today at Reeling 29, the Chicago LGBT Film Festival. It's my favorite so far and I've seen MANY good, even great, films already. This one was just... great. Ben Bonenfant is an excellent lead in this film, too. I've never seen the short he was in before this, but going to try to find it somehow.

His acting was so good, I felt like I was watching a documentary. He/we learn something with every encounter in this film. I don't want to give anything away. I'm buying it as soon as it's out - actually I'm going to see if/when it's available.

Seriously, watch this movie and you'll feel like you accompanied Alice down the rabbit hole - except Alice is a hustler and the rabbit hole is, well... use your imagination.

It kills me when someone attempts to classify a movie as "gay" and/or "straight". If it falls into either of those categories it fails at being universal. I found this one, minus some of the raunchy dialogue, to be universal. If gays can love "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Pretty Woman", why can't straights love this? Hustler pretends to be whatever/whomever his male clients need, and discovers himself along the way. Is that really so taxing? Brief nudity in the beginning, sex that focuses solely on the facial expressions for the rest of the film, and some pretty rough/real dialogue. Really, too much for straights? I don't think so. The lead is perfect, the rest of the acting can be spotty, and there's a lot of verbal exposition(redundant?) Still an awesome film no matter the genre. When I saw the term "hustler listed in the description I almost passed, as I would "Coming of Age" or "HIV Positive" themed films, but this one is different. A gay guy figuring himself out. Cool flick.

We sometimes feel like we are lost, alone, and confused. Why not? Life is a labyrinth of trials, much like the building that the protagonist gets lost (literally and figuratively) in. Mistaking one path for another is easy, terrifying, and painful. Each path has friends and enemies, angels and demons. But if we're lucky enough, brave enough, we just might let someone in. Getting lost finding the way seems less scary.

Strapped is one of the most excellent films I have watched in quite a while. The writing is excellent, the direction is excellent, the acting is excellent. I have so much more to say about the intelligence, the symbolism, the honesty, the multi-layered profundity, the heart, and the life-affirming testament that is this film; however, why spoil all the fun for you?