Sugar (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Chris W

  
  This was the follow up to Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's surprise hit Half Nelson, and, like that one, this is a smart, heartfelt tale that has a great message, but is still entertaining without being overly preachy. The story concerns 19 year-old Miguel "Sugar" Santos, a… More
  This was the follow up to Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's surprise hit Half Nelson, and, like that one, this is a smart, heartfelt tale that has a great message, but is still entertaining without being overly preachy. 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.

• Clintus M

  
  This is not a sports film at all; Baseball is only the setting for a story of human experience. Sugar is a wonderfully crafted movie, a story of opportunity and adaptation made more effective through the perspective of an immigrant chasing his "one opportunity" for success.… More
  This is not a sports film at all; Baseball is only the setting for a story of human experience. Sugar is a wonderfully crafted movie, a story of opportunity and adaptation made more effective through the perspective of an immigrant chasing his "one opportunity" for success. The journey is fascinating, the progress from a baseball academy in the D.R. to living with an Iowa family and finally living in New York surronded by others who had made the journey before. Sugar is a uniquely American story told in a refreshingly honest way.

• danny d

  
  a wonderful baseball movie that sits tragically as a hidden gem. the end of the film left too much uncertainty for a character that we came to care about, but the journey we travel to the point of being left wondering is a heartfelt and worth while journey. if you love baseball then… More
  a wonderful baseball movie that sits tragically as a hidden gem. the end of the film left too much uncertainty for a character that we came to care about, but the journey we travel to the point of being left wondering is a heartfelt and worth while journey. if you love baseball then watch this film, it leaves the normal cliches of overdone "feel good" sports films behind.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Welcome to America, son!"</i> Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"Welcome to America, son!"</i> Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Filmed in quasi-documentary style, the film appears on the surface to be about the Latino dream of making it to the major leagues. Upon closer review, the family and friends of Sugar only ask "Are you going to the states?". The crux of the film lies not so much in the long odds of making it to the show, but moreso, simply escaping the homeland ... it's just that baseball is viewed as the quickest ticket out. The "Half Nelson" writer/director team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck score again with "Sugar". What really hit home with me was how many people miss out on their real chance because they just have a simple shortage of passion for their talent. When Sugar bashes the water cooler, it's not because he pitched poorly, but rather because he fears he will be shipped back home. There are many fine moments in this and the final act twist is not just terrific story telling, but fitting as well. It does what a final act should do ... connect the dots. Think back to the domino scene when one guy spouts that he once hit 98 in spring training. The recognition that he is back home playing dominoes is the real story. Good stuff. First time actor Algenis Perez Soto perfectly captures the charm and innocence of Sugar and finally the harsh reality of the situation. This is one to see.

• Mark H

  
  Fictional biography of a Dominican baseball player who is invited to try out in U.S. minor leagues, with the ultimate dream to play in the majors. Engrossing journey of our hero, Miguel 'Sugar' Santos takes us to places we do not expect to go in a typical sports drama. The… More
  Fictional biography of a Dominican baseball player who is invited to try out in U.S. minor leagues, with the ultimate dream to play in the majors. Engrossing journey of our hero, Miguel 'Sugar' Santos takes us to places we do not expect to go in a typical sports drama. The events may not always be uplifting, but they are realistic, imbued with intelligence and heart. This quiet, but affecting story is anything but predictable. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's worthy follow-up to <I>Half Nelson</I>.

• Tim S

  
  First thing you should know is that I don't like baseball. I have never been a big fan, so the fact that this movie had me so intrigued is saying something. It's not just about baseball and it's definitely not something like a Ron Shelton movie. It's basically… More
  First thing you should know is that I don't like baseball. I have never been a big fan, so the fact that this movie had me so intrigued is saying something. It's not just about baseball and it's definitely not something like a Ron Shelton movie. It's basically about a guy trying to find his way to the majors from a poor upbringing in the Dominican Republic. It's a very bare bones, simple film and one of the things that excited me about it. Not a lot as far as plot really happens, but it is more of a character study and also a story of trying to adapt to an entirely different world where at any moment you could be thrown back to where you came from because of something simple as a bad outing on the mound. I loved the opening, but then it begins to drag in the middle with a stereo-typical "old white couple" and their pretty granddaughter taking the film down an unexpectedly ho hum route. Towards the end, I became more intrigued because it was a very realistic way of how this kind of story would end. Very well shot and acted and I appreciate Ryan Fleck (co-director who also directed Half Nelson) sticking with his strengths. The only thing is I would really love if everyone would stop talking about Iraq in movies just to seem topical.

• Gordon A

  
  Intelligent immigrant tale with a lead performance played with an incredibly measured stillness and restraint by Soto. Stays clear of sentimentality and pat Hollywood cliches which often plague 'issue' movies.

• William D

  
  I had very high expectations for "Sugar," as it was written and directed by [b]Ryan Fleck[/b] and [b]Anna Boden[/b], the filmmakers who gave us "Half-Nelson," one of the most extraordinary films of the decade. But alas, "Sugar" has none of the magic of… More
  I had very high expectations for "Sugar," as it was written and directed by [b]Ryan Fleck[/b] and [b]Anna Boden[/b], the filmmakers who gave us "Half-Nelson," one of the most extraordinary films of the decade. But alas, "Sugar" has none of the magic of "Half-Nelson." It's not a bad film, but it's nothing spectacular. The topic is very interesting. "Sugar" I believe is the first American film with a Dominican protagonist. This has been a long time coming. It's great to see this important immigrant group finally getting some attention. Dominicans are particularly important when it comes to American baseball, where they have a disproportionate influence. There are countless baseball stars who are Dominican, but I'm sure that most fans don't know that these stars are Dominican. I'm also sure that 98% of these fans could not find the Dominican Republic on a map. And white fans in New York have no doubt never been to a Dominican neighborhood, even when the neighborhood is right next door. Everyone ignores Dominicans. They occupy a unique place in American life today, with an odd mixture of influence and invisibility. I imagine that Fleck and Boden were attracted to this film idea because of the unique cultural position of Dominicans. "Sugar" is a work of fiction, but it feels almost like a documentary. We meet a young baseball player in the Dominican Republic. He plays in a league where scouts from Major League Baseball are constantly circling. They have their eye on this man, who is known to his friends as Azucar (sugar). His hometown is not much more than a shantytown, but he has a very loving family. Amidst all the poverty there is much love -- as is most often the case with Dominicans, in my experience. (I live in Washington Heights, the major Dominican neighborhood in New York City.) Sugar's great dream (and the dream of almost every Dominican male, it seems) is to be sent to the United States to play baseball. When the fantasy comes true, we go along for the ride, watching him try to deal with life in Iowa. Fleck and Boden emphasize the culture clash between Santo Domingo and Iowa but in ways that I thought were rather obvious. The baseball league sends Sugar to live with a lovable but clueless white family. It's funny to watch them speaking in the normal fashion, as if he's an English speaker. Yet he doesn't understand a word. Oddly, the baseball organization doesn't give any of the Latino players English lessons. I presume that this is something Fleck and Boden found out in their research. Why is it so difficult for Americans to offer immigrants English lessons? It's one of the great missing pieces in American life. We make it immensely difficult for immigrants to learn our language, then we judge them for not having learned it! The language barrier leads to social isolation, which is Sugar's greatest challenge. It is nearly impossible for him to interact with Americans socially, which causes a tremendous loneliness. We especially see his pain as he runs up against walls every time he tries to flirt with an American girl. There are hints of racism in this as Fleck and Boden depict it, which is no doubt true to life. Sugar's odyssey abruptly shifts at the midpoint of the film, the details of which I won't reveal, and the story moves to New York City. Here Sugar finally finds a Latino community, which is a great relief to him. But his struggles continue for other reasons. This sounds like an interesting story, but the direction is most often pedestrian. The script is also for the most part mundane. I can recommend the film but not very highly. Fleck and Boden had a great story idea and a great cast of Dominicans (led very well by newcomer [b]Algenis Soto[/b]), but they didn't execute very well. They seemed to be imitating the style of television directors instead of bringing their unique cinematic skills to the playing field.

• Aaron N

  
  Player: Why do they call you Sugar? Santos: Well, I'm sweet with the ladies. Other Player: They call him Sugar because he eats so much dessert. From the writer/director team that made Half Nelson, comes a film following a baseball player from the Dominican Republic, coming to… More
  Player: Why do they call you Sugar? Santos: Well, I'm sweet with the ladies. Other Player: They call him Sugar because he eats so much dessert. From the writer/director team that made Half Nelson, comes a film following a baseball player from the Dominican Republic, coming to America to play in the minor leagues, hoping to make it to the big leagues. Working with mostly non-actors and improved dialog, the movie works well at delivering a solid story. The main character, Sugar, is a pitcher, and a good one, but he is tested hard once he faces real games in the minor leagues. Constantly working to improve his game, battle his stress, and learn more and more English, Sugar goes through the motions of a fish out of water looking to become better. But this film throws a few curve balls (see what I did there) into this story, ending in a place very different from where it began. Being a big fan of Half Nelson, I quite enjoyed the style of this film as well. The story may seem familiar, but works very well. Sugar is a great character, played very well by newbie Algenis Perez Soto. It moves along at a fairly slow pace, but this film works very well with what it wants to do. Coach: Well you played with your emotions and your emotions got the best of you.

• Mike N

  
  Sugar is an ode to the immigrant story, and completely not what you'd expect from all the fastballs and sinkers hurled so early in the film. Every scene feels rich and yet edited smartly, efficiently moving from one scene to the next with only what you need. And that is… More
  Sugar is an ode to the immigrant story, and completely not what you'd expect from all the fastballs and sinkers hurled so early in the film. Every scene feels rich and yet edited smartly, efficiently moving from one scene to the next with only what you need. And that is essentially what Miguel Santos, aka "Azúcar" ("Sugar") does in this movie. No-namer Algenis Perez Soto plays Sugar, a 19-yr. old Dominican pitching prospect basically working on a baseball farm in his native land and awaiting his chance to get sent Stateside. Family and friends in his lively yet clearly destitute community constantly inquire, "Are you going to the States yet?" which, at this point in the movie, is insinuated to mean catching his big break in baseball. But what we learn throughout the movie's journey is that the big break was really just as simple as the question: going to the States. The movie hooks the viewer with a common sports movie, rags-to-riches trajectory: Sugar gets called up to the U.S. for spring training in Arizona, impresses several scouts, and is assigned to Single A baseball in... Iowa. His paychecks, even as a minor-leaguer, still excite him, as he sends so much of it to his family in the Dominican Republic. His pitching debut on the field draws great applause from the local Iowan crowd and praise from onlooking analysts. But gradually, Sugar's cultural dislocation distresses him. He knows a pocketful of English words, keeping him always at pitching arm's length from nearly everybody in this new, Midwestern small-town community he's summering in, even though there are moments where it looks like he's making connections. Then the sports movie expectations come off the rails. Sugar is sidelined with an injury, his lone Spanish-speaking friend in Iowa, Jorge, is cut from the team, and a new pitching phenom is added, finding himself under mounting pressure to perform well on the mound, with so much at stake - such as supporting his family back home. And quite naturally, he begins to unravel. His on-field issues exacerbate his struggles to meld with the small-town culture, leaving him vulnerable and doubting his baseball ambitions. He then makes a surprising decision that underscores the film's quiet tragedy in unrealized dreams, and yet emboldens the viewer in maybe discovering a different kind of dream that America surely offers. And it's all played so matter-of-factly, with no grandstanding, embellished drama, or "actor's scenes" - all a very realist-style story arc. As you see Sugar settle into a new community with familiar languages and even finding old pal Jorge, you can't help but recall when Sugar, drinking beers with his buddies back in the Dominican before leaving for spring training, and one of them shares his story about once having thrown a 98-mph fastball in the minor leagues. And yet there he was, just a regular guy on an island in the Caribbean, living like he was before he left. Knowing that there are many versions of his story, and that there are versions of Sugar's story, is how the film quietly blows you away.

• Mark A

  
  A thoughtful, poignant film about a young man who follows his dreams to America to play baseball. As much as this viewer enjoyed this film and the performance of the young man (Algenis Perez Soto) who plays the title character, somehow the film felt incomplete. A message at the… More
  A thoughtful, poignant film about a young man who follows his dreams to America to play baseball. As much as this viewer enjoyed this film and the performance of the young man (Algenis Perez Soto) who plays the title character, somehow the film felt incomplete. A message at the beginning of the film says that it has been edited for content from its original format. Makes one wonder just how much has been cut and why. The culture clash between Sugar and his host family was only lightly touched on. The reasons for Sugar's meltdown are only hinted at. The relationships with his teammates are superficially treated at best. The brief encounter with performance enhancing drugs seemed like an unnecessary distraction from the main story. In spite of these flaws, the film is refreshing in that it showed what happens to those that are ground down and cast aside by the sports machine that is always in search of the next superstar. The supporting cast was superb; the scenery and cinematography enhanced the story. A very good film that could have been excellent, but felt short of expectations.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Sugar" is a bittersweet but slightly overlong movie that celebrates baseball on every level, as it follows Miguel 'Sugar' Santos(Algenis Perez Soto), a promising pitching prospect with great stuff and shaky control, starting out at a baseball… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Sugar" is a bittersweet but slightly overlong movie that celebrates baseball on every level, as it follows Miguel 'Sugar' Santos(Algenis Perez Soto), a promising pitching prospect with great stuff and shaky control, starting out at a baseball academy run by the Kansas City Knights in the Dominican Republic. As a fellow player tells Sugar to calm him down and he passes on to another player, it is that this is the same game they have always played. While baseball may be universal in cutting across borders, it does not necessarily hold true off the baseball diamond, especially once Sugar continues his unpredictable journey to spring training in Arizona and later to Class A ball in Bridgetown, Ia. To Sugar's family, his making Spring Training is like htting the lottery, the same for any other ballplayer who gets this far. For an organization that recruits as heavily as the Knights do, it is distressing that they do not do more than teach a very rudimentary English at the baseball academy or do more to acclimate the players to life in the States. Sugar's English gets better as time goes along which is helped by the kindness of Americans, especially his hosts in Iowa. However, the difficulty in communicating does lead to a huge misunderstanding.[/font]

• Jeff T

  
  If you saw HALF NELSON you know what Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are capable of. If you didn't, see SUGAR. If you did, see SUGAR. They have the incredibly rare ability to confound expectations on a scene-by-scene basis and tell a large story on a small canvas. This baseball… More
  If you saw HALF NELSON you know what Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are capable of. If you didn't, see SUGAR. If you did, see SUGAR. They have the incredibly rare ability to confound expectations on a scene-by-scene basis and tell a large story on a small canvas. This baseball movie has nothing to do wth baseball, really. It might be about the dream to belong, or the lure of the tarnished American dream, or how you look to somebody who is not you (or like you) at all. Or it might just be about baseball. But it's defnitely worth the trip.

• Lesley N

  
  Excellent sports film that resolutely skips all the expected beats. What, no standing ovation at the end? No sage advice from a gnarled old pro at the three quarters stage? No montage of stunning action shots wowing the crowd at the half way mark? Instead this focusses on the… More
  Excellent sports film that resolutely skips all the expected beats. What, no standing ovation at the end? No sage advice from a gnarled old pro at the three quarters stage? No montage of stunning action shots wowing the crowd at the half way mark? Instead this focusses on the immigrant experience of getting into big money sport, the good and the bad, and suggests, in a hopeful ending so gentle you barely see it coming, that possibly there's shhh.... more to life than baseball after all. Well worth a watch.

• Philip P

  
  'Sugar' is not the uplifting sports film you might expect when you read the summary and decide it sounds like a good one to rent. I knew this was an indie-film, one where the sport would be the backdrop and probably a metaphor for what was going on in our main characters… More
  'Sugar' is not the uplifting sports film you might expect when you read the summary and decide it sounds like a good one to rent. I knew this was an indie-film, one where the sport would be the backdrop and probably a metaphor for what was going on in our main characters life. What I didn't expect though was to be uncertain of where the story was going. I figured the film would follow this certain athlete because he was different because there was something special about him that made him stand out above the rest, and it starts by setting it up this way. It never comes straight out and says how great a player Sugar is, but we know he is good enough to have a shot at the majors, and that is what his life revolves around-getting out of the Dominican Republic and creating opportunities for himself and his family. I didnt think that the protagonist would act the way he did after not performing as good as he had hoped, the story stays on Sugar who newcomer Algenis Perez Sotoplays plays with a sense of confusion and determination, but a temper that eventually overrides his talent-It is hard to discuss the film without kind of telling where the story goes, but I don't think in saying that Sugar isn't the most likeable character and isn't someone you will be rooting for come time for the credits to roll is saying too much. Sugar is quite slow, especially when he finally gets to the states and is playing minor leagues and staying with an older couple. The film just seems to drag, with a dramtic question that I began to care less and less about as Sugar seems to care less and less about actually making it to the pro's. It is hard to understand a character that has so much riding on an opportunity and they don't keep trying until they are turned away, it is hard to imagine how you could sympathize with that, that is of course saying you are putting yourself in his place, with your set of ethics and qualities, but all in all, Sugar becomes less likeable, while the movie becomes more real. When it reaches the point where you sit back and understand this may not end with him throwing his first strike out in the pro's you get a little concerned and realize that the majority of the guys who come over here trying to make it, don't, and end up going back or staying here and working jobs that im sure they never dreamed of doing. I was a little hesitant to like 'Sugar' because it was too slow for my liking and it didn't follow the constructs I had in mind for it, but that is no reason to dismiss the film as no good. it is very well photographed and looks very authentic, the baseball scenes never feel forced or fake. The same can be said for the acting. For a smaller film, that didn't see a wide release, 'Sugar' is very well put together and honestly is a good and no doubt true story. Baseball fan or not, 'Sugar' is worth a watch, because it never is just a sports movie, actually, its anything but.

• John M

  
  "Sugar" is brilliantly written, directed and very believably acted. The story provides the uplifting moments and emotions typical of sports stories but avoids clichés or predictable directions. As a Dominican, I personally didn't like the way they speak Spanish… More
  "Sugar" is brilliantly written, directed and very believably acted. The story provides the uplifting moments and emotions typical of sports stories but avoids clichés or predictable directions. As a Dominican, I personally didn't like the way they speak Spanish because it is not the way we commonly speak. If you want a real baseball story, without the bells and whistles, then this is for you.

• Eduardo C

  
  Surprising in all the right ways. Damn near flawless. Not a sports film in the slightest. Review pending.

• matt s

  
  Interesting, but it does bog down in the middle. I think Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck do a good job with what they have, but the subject doesn't lend itself to all those exciting long shots and sequences they so adore.

• Tobias X

  
  This was so much better and so different then what I was expecting. <br/> <br/>Director duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's SUGAR would be boilerplate sport-film uplift if not for their classy and honest lyricism. These filmmakers have a real gift for writing interesting… More
  This was so much better and so different then what I was expecting. <br/> <br/>Director duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's SUGAR would be boilerplate sport-film uplift if not for their classy and honest lyricism. These filmmakers have a real gift for writing interesting and charismatic characters that are easy to empathize with. <br/> <br/>SUGAR is an affective portrait of a Dominican boy's coming-of-age within the ultra-competitive world of U.S. pro baseball. It successfully commingles the kitchen-sink realism of the filmmakers' early documentary work with the poetic style of their previous feature HALF NELSON (2006). It functions as the story of an immigrant's experience as well as it does a baseball drama. Unlike the idealized sports fare Hollywood dishes out each year, this movie depicts the successes and disappointments of its protagonist with a poignant degree of truth. <br/> <br/>First time actor Algenis Perez Soto's amazingly natural performance as 'Sugar' Santos painstakingly charts the emotional journey of a young man adapting to life in a strange land at a ridiculously high-pressure sport. Already one of the best films I've seen this year.

• James B

  
  Great story! Algenis Perez Soto makes a raw and inspired debut performance as a Dominican youth trying to make it in America as a pro baseball player. If you love baseball, or even if you don't, this film will still entertain!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings