Strapped (1993)

Ex-con attempting to go straight runs accross serious problems. His girlfriend gets arrested for dealing crack to an undercover police officer. In a desperate attempt to get the charges ... See full summary »

Director:

Forest Whitaker

Writer:

Dena Kleiman

Stars:

William James Stiggers Jr., Chi Ali, Bokeem Woodbine

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William James Stiggers Jr.	...	Chucky (as Willie James Stiggers Jr.)
Chi Ali	...	Pharoah
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Diquan Mitchell
Starletta DuPois	...	Diquan's Mother
Mike Farley	...	Cop
Hugh Hurd	...	Man in Hallway (as Hugh L. Hurd)
Anthony Lozama	...	Young Boy in Hallway
David Robinson	...	Boy at Mortuary Truck
Mary Hedahl	...	Secretary
Kia Goodwin	...	Latisha Jordan (as Kia Joy Goodwin)
Marcella Lowery	...	Fast Food Customer
Joseph Gimpel	...	Fast Food Manager
Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins	...	Lay Lay (as Jermaine Hopkins bka 'Huggy')
Nzingha	...	Aunt Viola
Fredro Starr	...	Bamboo (as Fredro)

Storyline

Ex-con attempting to go straight runs accross serious problems. His girlfriend gets arrested for dealing crack to an undercover police officer. In a desperate attempt to get the charges dropped against his woman, he strikes deal with weapons cop(Michael Biehn) to turn in local gun dealers. How ever, the D.A. is not satisfied with the results, resulting in some serious game playing and double crossing.

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Plot Keywords:

gun | teenager | blood | violence | one word title | 

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Taglines:

On These Streets You Take Life One Bullet At A Time.

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Strapped

Filming Locations:

88th Precinct - 298 Classon Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Osiris Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Dena Kleiman was a reporter for The New York Times.

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Goofs

When Daquan & Yvonne are at the dinner table, in close shots they are sitting next to each other. In wide shots they are sitting across from one another.

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Quotes

Matthew McRea: Diquan, you don't have to do this.
Diquan Mitchell: Man, what do you know about it? You don't live in my world. My grandma cleans your apartment.

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Connections

Referenced in Cult Legends and Rising Stars: Cult Legends: Bokeem Woodbine (2016)

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Soundtracks

I Just Can't Help Myself
Performed by Gerald Levert
Written by Gerald Levert and Tony Nicholas
Courtesy of EastWest Records America/The Atlantic Group
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

I must give credit where credit is due...

I must give credit where credit is due. This film has a pretty good, well-structured script, with a powerful crisis and climax in the end. I must commend the writer for putting together such a script.

But the acting wasn't convincing most of the time, and the Brooklyn portrayal, which includes the character's choices of clothing, didn't give a realistic image of the Brooklyn I know. I would also probably change the music in the film, cut-out the snippets of reggae music during the revealing of a gun in the film, and the emphasis made on the main actors to look like thugs. The actors over did their performances as criminals most of the time and it was a bit distracting to someone, like myself, who grew up hanging out with true thugs from the streets of Brooklyn, New York.

But besides all of that, the film was still great. From a grade of A+, being excellent, to a F, being the worst, I give this film a C...