Alright, this movie....is for lack of a better word: interesting. It has it's strengths and weaknesses. Strength 1: Vin Diesel looking, a walk through ten miles of broken glass just to drink his bathwater, HOT! I mean, this whole review could be about this fine specimen of man, but I digress. Strength 2: The acting was good. It seemed almost unscripted. The banter between the gang was perfect and very true to life. Weakness 1: THE ENDING!!! What the hell was that? I mean, let them be together! Bad choice Mr. Diesel, but because of those obviously frequent trips to the gym, I am willing to forgive. Weakness 2: Skipping over when they made love. I know it's petty and girlie and even slightly perverse, but I don't care! I wanted to see some skin. So, there's my review. Thanks.

Long ago, in the days when the Fast and the Furious was still just an old Roger Corman B-Movie, and nobody thought a franchise could be spun out with a title as limp as The Chronicles of Riddick, Vin Diesel was just another struggling actor, earning his crust selling light bulbs as a telemarketer. With admirable verve, the shiny headed one set out going his own way - writing, producing, directing and starring in his own pet project. The resultant work was selected for Sundance in 1997, and, whilst hardly causing a sensation, was obviously seen by enough of the right kind of people to set its maker off on his path to stardom. Little seen in the intervening years, the film, Strays, is finally finding a wider audience on DVD.The film follows Rick (Diesel) a part-time dope dealer and general lay- about wishing to transcend his social status and become… well, that isn't entirely clear. But something.  Surrounded by friends even more gormless than himself it is little wonder Rick sees himself as something special. Tired of the daily bump 'n grind, he looks for true love with the middle class girl next door, but his innate dimwittedness always seems to get the better of him. Strays examines the lives of the buff, rather brutish, none too sharp yet somehow vaguely existential young male. Pasolini made a couple of masterpieces with such material, Scorsese got some pretty decent mileage too. Diesel, sadly, offers up a tepid, plodding insult to intelligence.The first half of the film actually holds some interest with its ham- fisted dissection of male narcissism and the pleasing attendant whiff of homoeroticism. Disappointingly Diesel rejects this fruitful avenue for a remarkably inane progression into soppy romance, with the Pantene-fresh Heather (Lanza) falling for Rick's dubious charms (he likes mint choc chip ice cream and - shockingly - all the words to the Tin Man song from the Wizard of Oz.) Diesel's acting range is showcased in all its glory: witness the occasions in which his character will offer some pithy advice to his no-good friends first in a low voice, AND THEN SHOUTING IT AS LOAD AS HE CAN. Rick has mother issues, which apparently excuses his all-round prickishness. And anyway, IF EVERYONE WOULD JUST LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING VERY LOADLY things would probably be OK. The improvisational style aims for Cassavettes but hits some way wide of the mark. The Pacifier had more soul than this.

Strays is brutally honest and... beautifully executed. It uses harsh words and harsher actions to portray a lifestyle that is real and not sugar coated for the audience. It does not apologize for this but instead asks us to understand the truth being portrayed. A war without blood would not be accurate. These lives without the brutal language would be false and would strip the movie of its commitment to honesty.The acting, directing, and writing in this movie was done with absolute attention to detail. I deeply enjoyed this movie. It was fresh and new and at times so real and raw I felt like a voyeur. Rick's life unfolds before us and we are taken along on a journey through his emotional awakening. Gracefully it allows us to experience the lives of its characters without judgment.This in turn gives us the freedom to feel and grow along with them. It evokes emotion and dialogue and is in my opinion a great work of art.

This movie rang very true to me. Excellent dialog for the most part. There were some funny parts as well, but mostly it was an honest portrayal of a similar kind of life I used to live. This is as good as anything Spike Lee has done on a similar low budget and your hat as to go off to Vin Diesel for the effort. The only small negative, as others have mentioned, was some of the confrontational language was a bit exaggerated and unnecessary. One really great scene was Vin Diesel singing "If I only had a heart" from the Wizard of Oz... that just plain worked. The interracial friendships were heartening and rang true.