Sugar (2008)
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 120
Fresh: 111 | Rotten: 9
Sugar is an exceptionally-crafted film -- part sports flick, part immigrant tale -- with touching and poignant drama highlighted by splendid performances.
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 4
Sugar is an exceptionally-crafted film -- part sports flick, part immigrant tale -- with touching and poignant drama highlighted by splendid performances.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 12,237
Movie Info
Filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson) weave this introspective sports drama concerning a talented Dominican baseball player who longs to break into the American big league and earn the money needed to support his impoverished family. Miguel Santos is a talented pitcher who might just have what it takes to earn a prized spot on a Major League Baseball team, but before that happens he'll have to prove his worth in the minor leagues. Advancing into the United States' minor league
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Cast
-
Algenis Perez Soto
Miguel Santos 'Sugar... -
Rayniel Rufino
Jorge -
Andre Holland
Brad -
Michael Gaston
Stu Sutton -
Jaime Tirelli
Osvaldo -
Jose Rijo
Alvarez -
Ann Whitney
Helen Higgins -
Richard Bull
Earl Higgins -
Ellary Porterfield
Anne Higgins -
Alina Vargas
Reyna -
Kevin Leonardo Garci...
Salvador -
Marcos Rosa
Sanchez -
Walki Cuevas
Alfonso -
Santo Silvestre
Umpire 1 -
Emmanuel Nanita Carv...
Reyes -
Cesar Emilio Minaya ...
Pedro -
Joendy Peña Brown
Marcos -
Karl Bury
Rudy Hubbard -
Zaida Alexandra Hern...
Erica -
Lilin Soto Gonzales
Grandmother -
Dioni Feliciano
Luis -
Teodosia Reyes
Carmen -
Walky Alvarez
Sofia -
Letilier A. Foy Jr.
Jaime -
Victor Manuel Adon
Javier
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Sugar Trailer & Photos
All Critics (120) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (9) | DVD (2)
Sugar, a baseball movie, an immigrant parable and a thoroughly entertaining drama that accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of putting a fresh face on the fractured American Dream.
Top CriticNot only have director-writers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck crafted a poignant immigrant tale, they've made a sports saga rife with rare truths.
The camera is on Sugar the whole time, but the faux-documentary approach keeps him out of reach in all the ways that really matter.
To tell you what happens to him from here would be a tremendous disservice. We'll just say that, refreshingly, nothing about it is sickly sweet.
A rich and moving reminder of the way professional sports aspirations can shape someone's destiny in the real world.
This is a tragic sports movie that shies away from every element of tragedy.
I've watched thousands of baseball games and seen tons of baseball movies, but Sugar opened new doors of understanding and insight.
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the makers of Half Nelson, return with another subtly observed drama about a character on the outskirts of mainstream America.
Boden and Fleck are attentive to detail and the nuances of social interaction -- in the cornfields of Middle America as well as in the Dominican Republic. And Sugar is a thorny but endearing hero.
It is full of so much humor, grace, and unexpected detail, and arrives in such a truthful place, that in the end it's far more enthralling than the typical rags-to-riches tale one might have anticipated.
Follows its own path, defying stereotypes and avoiding just about every sports-movie cliché and fish-out-of-water convention, all the way to the end.
We begin to get the feeling that the United States of Baseball is somehow grander and more generous than the United States of America.
A portrait of an immigrant, a sports movie commentating on the machinations of American sport and a coming-of-age drama: Sugar is not short of subject matter.
Steroids enter the equation, but "Sugar's" narrative turns feel more generous than obvious - emphasizing baseball's calming, community ideas over its cult of personality. The gravity of Miguel's plight stays with you, but so does his eventual peace.
Fresh perspectives offer fresh ideas, even if they don't result in a smile and a happy Frank Sinatra song about love.
At a time when sabermetrics break players down into pages of predictive statistics, Sugar delivers a potent reminder of off-the-field challenges that affect performance on the field.
Not your usual film about chasing the American dream, Sugar gains mileage instead from a more sober brand of inspiration while imparting wisdom in the form of welcome reality checks.
In a word, Sugar is extraordinary.
Though a little long at two hours, Sugar is a treat for any serious student of baseball.
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Foreign Titles
- Sugar (2008) (DE)
- Sugar (2008) (CA)
The story concerns 19 year-old Miguel "Sugar" Santos, a talented pitcher from the Dominican Republic who dreams of getting sent to the U.S. to make it big in the major leagues. Before he can get that far though, he has to start lower, and his big dreams start off with him being sent through the ranks of the minor leagues, where he ends up in a small Iowa town. His experiecnes there, mostly involving his struggles with a foreign language and culture cause him to start reevaluating his life's ambition and make him question if he's really on the right path in life.
This is a sports movie, but not in the typical sense. It's mostly a character study about the immigrant experience in the U.S., with a nice examination specifically of Latin American and Caribbean athletes and how they fit into the big picture. I originally thought this was a documentary, or perhaps a docudrama, but no, the specific story is entirely fictional, though it is heavily influenced by real life stories
That I thought this was non-fiction is a testament to Boden and Fleck's knowledge of the subject, and the high leve lof authenticity and honesty on display in the film. They did their homework, and realy know their stuff, and the result is a wonderful look at both the immigrant experience, and the world of immigrants in the minor leagues.
If I have to air complaints, then I'll point out that the film's overall pacing could have been perhaps a bit tighter, and how the third act overall seems to lose a lot of momentum I thought. It doesn't derail completely, but it does start to drag. Also, the way the flm was done just seemed really "typical" to me. There's no denying this is an indie film, and it seems like the film wants that fact to be known. Kidna got to me a bit, especially since Boden and Fleck's other two major films are like that as well (to varying degrees).
All in all though, this is a really decent film. It's got some good performances, a great message, and is an insightful look into a neat subject.