How sad is this?

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Just finishing watching this on Hulu so I figured I would do my best to tell the world what a wonderful film it is.This movie left me speechless and almost in tears. A perfect example of a diamond in the rough. It's nothing like your typical Hollywood romantic comedy. The story, plot and characters were touching and real. The movie grabs you right from the start with a fun and silly plot, but the characters are so developed and the acting so dead on that it doesn't seem like acting anymore. Doesn't matter what genre you might prefer, you'll love this one. Personally, I can't wait to tell everyone about this so I can watch it again. A must watch for anyone with a heart...yea, that means you. Great movie!When a movie blows you away so much that it leaves you feeling compelled to share it's greatest, well, then it deserves a 10.

After an intense week with Dario Argento and Japanese horror movies "Strictly Sexual" was chosen as a random romantic comedy. Expecting something in the mold of pubic "American Pie" fun I was unaware of the the strong indie credentials of this unknown pearl of a movie.Two physical workers, Joe (Johann Urb) and Stanny (Stevie Long, who interestingly enough is also the scriptwriter) venture into California in search of a new beginning, but unable to find construction work they quickly find themselves running on financial fumes. At the same time two house-mates - the sexually fervent Donna (Amber Benson) and the rigid Christi Ann (Kristen Kerr) - decide for a night out at a hotel, where word has it male escorts are available at the bar. With a comical twist that initiates the story Donna and Christi Ann invite Joe and Stanny mistaking them for prostitutes. After a brilliant spent night together Donna and Christi Ann decide to offer the boys a deal - be our sex slaves for money. Joe and Stanny reluctantly agree, but their acceptance causes unforeseeable events...The initial quarter of an hour had me sincerely doubting the quality of the movie with a very poorly done opening scene together with a corny rewind. Accepting that the comedy was going to be poorly acted with a vague and simple story I was exponentially unprepared for what this movie turned out to be. And that is an affectionate and passionate dissection of relationships. The dialogue is so intense and full of heart, that I would not be surprised if significant parts of the script were real-life situations written down in a dramatic context. Albeit the emotional wallop that the movie delivers seems mainly focused on the relationship between Donna and Stanny. The scriptwriter/actor Stevie Long seems almost as if he is reliving painful past memory, almost as if the most intense scenes were his form of achieving catharsis.The absolutely brilliant final fight was so real and I felt so much connection with the whole quarrel with my personal experiences. There is however a stark difference between the extremely intimate portrait of Donna's and Stanny's relationship and that of Christi Ann and Joe, which reeks a bit of fairy-tale romance, especially when contrasted to the brutal love-hate crash-course offered by their opposite pair.Nonetheless even those fairytailish segments are enjoyable and even though they don't convey similar realism it still has enough heart to keep you involved. The acting is sufficient, if awkward at times, with a couple of breakthrough scenes, which are so emotionally packed, that the previous flaws are easy to forget. All in all a very good indie romantic comedy, which deserves to be much higher on the radar and invokes to mind very positive comparisons of "Swingers" or "Chasing Amy".

I enjoyed this film. I especially liked Amber Benson as Donna, an aspiring screenwriter with serious esteem issues who makes no secret of her overpowering sexual appetite. She convinces her shy but successful roommate Christi Ann (Kristen Kerr) to pick up two gigolos downtown for some paid sex. The girls and guys pair up, have sex, then face the consequences in the morning and thereafter.The set-up is silly and full of those little coincidences that are routine in these kinds of female-oriented relationship films. The two supposed gigolos are actually unemployed construction workers (female fantasy time) who need someone to pay their bar bill at the fancy hotel bar they chose to patronize (only in the movies), and the two wanton females (male fantasy time) are only too happy to oblige (ahem). Well, they have to meet somehow, right? If you can get past that silliness, things do pick up later.Johann Urb (Joe) and Stevie Long (Stanny) are genial enough as the two buddies who luck out, but their characters are drawn simplistically. Urb plays Joe as a male model type (at one point he even gets a job offer as a model, one of the more believable moments in the film) in whose mouth butter wouldn't melt. Stanny is played as a crude lout who says thing while sober that you would have to be drunk to think are acceptable. Both guys are given dialog that sometimes rings true and sometimes doesn't, sometimes makes sense and sometimes doesn't.There isn't any explicit sex shown, but some scenes are about as suggestive as you can get without crossing that line. Which isn't a bad thing, the sex scenes are essential to show the complex attractions involved. That's a pretty remarkable achievement, usually the sex in low budget films like this is gratuitous, but here it really isn't. Donna in particular has a lot of issues and gets closer to reality with her neuroses and sensitivities than the others, who are broad stereotypes. If as much care had been taken with the other characters, "Strictly Sexual" might have become a minor classic.But, alas, along with Donna we have the shy, innocent girl who must learn about love from her sensitive, gentle and caring construction worker/male model Joe, and the other construction worker who takes the caveman routine way too far. Only in the final scene does Stanny get a chance to act like a human being, and unfortunately, that's too late.Even with its flaws, I liked this one. An entertaining way to spend the evening, especially if you like Amber.

In Los Angeles, the wealthy aspirant writer Donna (Amber Benson) and her best friend and aspirant designer Christi Ann (Kristen Kerr) are bored of relationships and decide to chase two escorts in a bar for one night stand. Meanwhile, the construction workers and best friends Stanny (Stevie Long) and Joe (Johann Urb) come from New York but do not find job in Los Angeles; without money, they decide to go to a fancy bar to drink and leave the place without paying the bill. The sexual experienced Donna and the uptight and shy Christi Ann meet Stanny and Joe and invite them home believing they are hustlers. After a night of sex, the women discover the misunderstanding and that the men are indeed unemployed workers. They propose them to stay in a tent near the swimming-pool with beer and food while they search for jobs; in return, they would be their "boy-toys" during the nights in a strictly sexual relationship. Along the following weeks, the couples become closer and change their feelings and behaviors with the development and growing of their relationships."Strictly Sexual" is a delightfully funny and original love story. This sweet low-budget movie overcame my best expectations, supported by an excellent screenplay, great direction and a perfect chemistry among the four believable lead characters. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Apenas Sexo" ("Just Sex")