Review of Sugar (2008) by Bryan G — 23 Sep 2009

During the first week of September I did my picks for DVD and Blu-Rays, and I think I ended up calling that week a rather slow one for new releases. Well, I feel bad now because one title I originally decided to skip ended up being one I watched and really enjoyed. I assumed that Sugar was going to be much like any other sports movie, with the same cliches and other predictabilities that have made me grow bitter against the genre. I'm glad I gave this film a chance, since it is so much more than just a sports film.

Writers/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's film works so wonderfully because it has such a captivating main character with Miguel 'Sugar' Santos (Algenis Perez Soto). He's a young man from San Pedro De Macoris, in the Dominican Republic, who dreams of playing baseball professionally in America and hopefully providing a better life for his family. He lands a big break when he is accepted into the U.S. minor league system, and begins what he hopes to be his journey to achieve his dream.

What is great about this film is that it doesn't become just another baseball film from this point on. And Sugar is a far more dynamic person/character than I expected. When he begins his career in the minor leagues, Sugar finds that it is far more difficult than he expected. There are more practices needed, and a heck of a lot more riding on each game than he has ever felt before. Since it is so easy to be removed from the minors and replaced with someone else, Sugar takes drastic measures to try and stay ahead of the game. But he finds that he may very well be losing his passion for this game he loves so much.

Algenis Perez Soto is simply wonderful in this film. He makes Sugar into a realistic person, and you believe his faults and his frustrations. Since Sugar is from another country, the film becomes equally a tale about an immigrant as it is a tale about baseball. Because of this, it opens the film up to so much more, and it was an interesting idea to see a story about an immigrant coming to America to play what is commonly referred to as American's past-time. Soto was perfect at handling this story, and delivered one of 2009's most powerful and memorable performances.

Sugar keeps a very well structured flow, brings the right amount of emotion and heart to the tale without going overboard or layering on much unneeded hurdles for its main character to go through. Sugar is a very heartfelt film from beginning to end, and has given me hope that sports films can still be made these days that have the power to influence and move you. Sugar is a highly recommended.