Customer Reviews

Sugar (Unrated)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Cliff (played by the late Andre Noble) has just turned 18. Smart, younger, Ritalin-popping sister Cookie (Haylee Wanstall) gives him a helpful push to go out into the big city (Toronto) to find sex. Emerging from the subway and riding his new skateboard, Cliff scoots off to a hustling district and catches the eye of one of the pros, Butch (Brendan Fehr), a drug-taker. Virgin Cliff decides almost immediately that he wants a relationship with Butch and even brings him home after the first night's encounter. The relationship has its ups and downs, but the audience gets to see Butch (and, to a lesser extent, Cliff) operate in the hustler world at a benignly kinky, more-than-vanilla, level but at less than the heights of depravity shown in "Mandragora." The two have a good chemistry, especially in the (shortened from the VHS version) breakfast and photo-discussing scenes. Cliff wants romance, not hustling; Butch has some ambivalence toward Cliff. The plot moves toward an inevitable result, followed by a twist at the end that shows where Cliff really is.

Cliff and Butch show good skin and are both good lookers. There are four hustler characters who show more. It all seems realistic and fairly presented.

I found the hustling side-stories the most interesting part of the movie. Butch, Cliff, and Cookie are the most memorably acted characters. The main love story seemed rushed at the beginning. Although I would have liked a little more on Cliff's motivation, one can make enough sense of it all. The initial scenes feel too formulaic; the viewer just has to last past them.

"Sugar" is an interesting, offbeat film despite some soft spots. There are no extras at all. Low 4 rating.

The recent tragic death of actor Andre Noble leaves a void that cannot be replaced. But thankfully he has left his mark in this beautifully directed film. Sugar reminds me of "My private Idaho" in terms of directing and mood. While the former film had River Phoenix, who made the film so sexy, this film has Andre Noble. Noble had an acting style that revealed passion and emotion with a sexual edge. Playing an 18 year old gay teen who is anxious to have his first sexual encounter, he falls for Butch, a gay street hustler(played well by Brendan Fehr). But this is clearly Noble's film. His heart breaking performance is so real and gripping, and he seemed so destined for super stardom. Beautiful eyes, gorgeous hair and a smile that would break a million hearts, his death leaves the film industry without his raw talent and that is a shame. I would rate this film as an indie classic. It really hit home for me. I hope straight viewers keep an open mind while viewing as Andre truly gives a performance worth seeing again and again.

I'm not really sure about the state of gay independent cinema. Seriously. Now there are plenty of ineffective low budget features across the board, but it just seems that the success stories in the gay indies are much more infrequent proportionally to the number of films being made. I'm not quoting real life statistics, of course, this is just my perception. What is equally interesting is that no matter how lacking some of these films may be in terms of accomplished filmmaking technique or logical storytelling, they are embraced by many. It's as if we are still perpetuating the notion that any gay representation is better than none--and I just don't know if that's true any more. Surely, gay cinema can aspire to greatness. I understand that many of these films are done with no money and very limited means. I sympathize. But writing a compelling and believable screenplay? That just takes creativity and talent--but for every great gay film, there are still 100 disasters!

Which leads me to "Sugar," a Canadian treat about the hustler life from John Palmer. Ostensibly billed as some sort of a love story, this bizarrely uneven film could never convince me that anything real was at stake. The characters are so inconsistent, the situations so false--what is supposed to have a gritty, hard edged feel just left me slightly amused (if I registered any emotion beyond shock). Telling the coming-of-age story of a gay suburban teen, Cliff, "Sugar" sets up an odd family life. Virginal Cliff is sent into the city by his young sister (and I mean elementary aged) for his 18th birthday. The girl, who is addicted to Ritalin, provides Cliff with vodka and marijuana to make the trip more enjoyable. His mother is never a strong parental figure, she's off at work (something unexplained having to do with cartons of chocolate) and/or completely indifferent--yet oddly accepting of her children's lack of sense.

Cliff promptly heads off to hustler central, meets the love of his life, makes out immediately, spends the night with all the rent boys--including a naked party in a client's limo. Cliff begins a romance/friendship in earnest with Butch--a surprisingly coherent and pleasant (when the story needs him to be) train wreck of a low-end escort. Cliff yearns to join the hustler life--why not? Everything is peaches and roses, however, until Butch does the unthinkable. It's awful and so unexpected! He has sex with Cliff in front of a client. It's exactly what Cliff has been wanting (both in terms of the relationship and in advancing his new career), but somehow we're supposed to believe it's unforgivable (and that Cliff has remained chaste during his explorations). The story gets even more ridiculous (I mean heartrending) as we get to the conclusion. Cliff must face the consequences of the life he has chosen--and the film leaves us with one last parting message. There's nothing that can't be solved by an anonymous hook-up in a restaurant bathroom. Sweet.

You know, the actors aren't bad. Heck, this film even features Canadian indie fave Sarah Polley. There's nudity, if that's what you're looking for. The little sister is extremely funny--although her penchant for supplying drugs and alcohol is never explained. If you find this a "love" story, bless you--but it's not for me. Now, I've heard a few comparisons to other (more successful) hustler movies including Van Sant's "My Own Private Idaho." Well, that just leaves me with one more thing to say--Spare me! KGHarris, 04/07.

Young queer skyrocketing out of the closet develops an infatuation for a stupid loser/druggie/boy-whore, with predictable and stupid consequences. Both boys receive serious rue from the clue canoe.

Sugar's not half as titillating or erotic as you might suppose based on their flesh comingling on the bed in the cover art. Instead it's a journey through the dark, dank caves of El Depresso.

The boys are cute, and act competently; they might have been presented a better script, written by a sober writer. I don't want to see anymore movies about gays on drugs having lousy sex and sad lives.

A lot of people become comfortable with the a-typical portrayal of gay life in film, a world of shiny disco balls, hard muscles, night clubs and fabulous clothes. Viewers are drawn into the monotomy of leads who are pining for love, struggling with acceptance and deal with tragic coming out stories but most of the time these tales seem to wrap things up nice and neatly in the end with our heroes finding love, triumphing over diversity and finding love and acceptance in some way.

This is not that movie and for some that is a bitter pill to swallow, but for some of us (who have swallowed many a bitter pill in our time) this movie is more real than any of those others.

Sugar is about falling in love with the bad boy and falling in with an unforgiving scene. Its about partying but not every rail rockin' weekend begins and ends with house music. Sometimes the party scene is a very dark very real world where you have to either fight against the current to survive or get swept away with the tide. Sugar is meant to be dark and ugly at times.

Me and my friends watched it with smiles, grimaces and an all too grave understanding of what the two main leads in the film were going through. A poignant scene towards the end will make anyone who has indulged to the point of excess relate to the gravity of the moment the two boys are in.

My only beef with this film was that the temporal sense was off. It was sometimes difficult to gauge how much time had passed between scenes and you have to pay attention to tiny details hidden in the background to clarify time, which can be difficult for some due to the powerful and raw look of this film.

People keep trying to compare this film to others in the genre, but my advice is that if you liked the movies Kids and Johns, then you'd like this film. If you like to keep your queeroverse tidy and happy with a fun back beat then steer clear.

This was supposed to be a love story, but really it wasn't. A coming of age tale, no more of a morality play on the evils of drug use. Newly 18, a boy goes out from suburbia to the destitute areas of downtown, immediately hooks up with a hustler who doesn't do "the gay thing" falls madly in love anyway, starts taking drugs and turning tricks as well. For someone inexperienced he sure caught on quickly. I was very disappointed with "Sugar." I didn't like the overall feel of the movie. It was dark and unfriendly, a poor man's version of "Kids." The performances were good, and it was nice to see a gay story told without flinching, and the male nudity kept peeking my interest. Not grat entertainment, but worth viewing.

Do not be put off by the first 10 minutes of this film: it screams: "bad script, bad direction, low production values, independent crap, etc."

Not only does it become interesting, Brendan Fehr's appearance lifts this script and by the end, you will be dropping your jaw at a mindboggling performance. Whatever real-life reluctance Fehr had playing a male prostitute disappeared when the camera rolled.

Reportedly, Fehr attended the premier but didn't stay to watch the film and when asked about his acting technique said "I just read the words." No, he doesn't just read the words. I had no idea this guy had such chops. If you know him from the Roswell TV series, you do NOT know him. He's been in a couple of clunkers that were extensions of his "mood" acting as Michael Guerin. None of that here; he has completely broken away. I cringe at comparing him to a young Johnny Depp, but if he keeps this up.... Its difficult to chew up the scenery without misstepping but he pulls it off in the final scenes which were so easy to get wrong.

His co-star, charming Andre Noble (who died of accidental poisoning in the summer of 2004) is solid as well, and there is a surprisingly good performance from 11-yr. old Haylee Wanstall.

This is the unrated version and there is much adult material here including frontal nudity, although not from either of the two leads. This is Fehr's best work to date. Clearly he deserves better material; what is amazing is the skill with which he created believability for his character. Taking this role was gutsy at many levels. The film isn't worth 4 stars, but I gave it four because of Fehr and Noble.

I have to admit that although I knew the name Bruce LaBruce, I really didn't know much about him until after viewing "Sugar" and became intrigued by the film, which is based on several short stories of his from the "JD" series. JD's was a queer punk-zine which thrived between 1985 and 1991 and here director John Palmer has taken these stories, moved it from the skinhead punk world to a more mainstream urban locale of male hustlers, prostitutes and crack addicts and tells the tale of a young man coming of age, in a gritty and unnerving way. This is a great little film with some outstanding performances all around and it's a nice change of pace from the more mainstream, sugar coated (no pun intended) gay films we generally are accustomed to. It's unfortunate that the lead actor, Andre Noble, at the young age of 25, passed away unexpectedly in September 2004. I'm sure he would have had a great career ahead of him.

On the eve of his 18th birthday, Cliff (Andre Noble) has a lame, but rather touching dinner with his mom (Marnie McPhail) and his sister "Cookie" (Haylee Wanstall) at a local watering hole. It's not until they return home that Cliff gets a rather unexpected present from his sister, a joint, a tiny bottle of vodka and a card that instructs him to get SEX. So what's a boy to do? He heads downtown and finds himself drawn to a male hustler named "Butch" (Brendan Fehr). Butch lives in a world of crack addicts, transexuals, and prostitutes and Cliff has no qualms or reservations about any of them or becoming a part of their world. Cliff and Butch strike up a friendship and spend the night together plutonically, with Cliff wanting more and Butch struggling with his intimacy. Butch shows him life on the streets and Cliff shows him the other side by taking him home for dinner. Their friendship continues to blossom. Like a lost little puppy, Cliff stays with Butch through thick and thin and as the story unfolds the dark underside engulfs both of them. From obese tricks and pregnant drug dealers to pedarests and guys who like to be spanked, we're drawn in, much like Cliff, to Butch's way of life and can't seem to pull away. As the film progresses you never know what dark alley, twist, or turn is going to befall them and both of these young actors give some great performances I've seen in quite some time, as do the co-stars. "Sugar" may not be for everyone but I enjoyed this dark, dank, new world.

I was lucky enough to be able to catch this one on the big screen before I picked it up on DVD. There's been a lot said about Sugar, both good and bad. It's not an easy movie to watch - nothing is romanticized or sugar-coated (no pun intended). Director John Palmer has a way of prefacing difficult scenarios with scenes full of humor, leaving the audience emotionally off-balance for most of the film, fluctuating between highly amused and a little horrified.

One thing that's constant, however, is the collective opinion of Brendan Fehr's mind-blowing performance.

Most people know him from "Roswell", or from the bit parts and ensemble roles he's had in would-be blockbusters ("Biker Boyz") and forgettable thrillers and horror flicks ("The Forsaken", "Christina's House"). Clearly, not the best vehicles to showcase any hidden chops. His work on Roswell often overshadowed leading man Jason Behr, and he has done some little-seen projects that really hinted at a bright future - "Edge of Madness," while not a great movie by any means, made you sit up and watch him.

"Sugar" makes it impossible for you to ignore him.

It's well-casted in general. The late Andre Noble is charming, convincingly wide-eyed and earnest. Maury Chaykin and Sarah Polley have memorable cameos. Haylee Wanstall is a natural. But it's Fehr's film, from beginning to end.

The movie isn't dialogue-heavy. It lets pointed looks and charged silences do a lot of the talking. And it takes an actor with a certain strength, a tangible presence, to pull off, without crossing the line into smarmy or just plain ridiculous. It's one of those roles that teeters on a razor's edge - the balance is so delicate, any wrong move could make the whole thing crash and burn.

What's impressive, and ultimately heart-breaking to watch, is that he's able to portray such a flawed character so flawlessly. Every note is pitch-perfect. The easy, cocky control Butch exudes in the beginning, that morphs into a downward spiral of self-destruction, could have been easily mishandled in the hands of another actor. But Fehr slides from one end of the spectrum to the other, seemingly effortlessly, grabbing the audience and yanking them along for the painful ride. The tenderness in his scenes with Noble, the determination in his encounters with clients, the easy comic timing, even the genuine kinship in his onscreen moments with Wanstall... none of that can be taught. By the time the film reaches its conclusion, he's taken you from Butch's early, confident smirk to a lost soul's broken tears and haunted eyes, and you're not watching Brendan Fehr, actor. He's become this character, and given us a glimpse at this kid's tragic life.

Perhaps therein lies the flaw in "Sugar." Once Butch fades to black, you're no longer engrossed. While I'm sure the ending was meant to illustrate how he'd influenced this suburban teenager's life, perhaps changed it for the better... Butch is one of those characters, and performances, that lingers, and stays with you long after the running time is over. And as the ending unfolded, all it did was anger me on behalf of the character I'd spent the entire movie watching, discarded and forgotten too soon.

I enjoy softcore and hardcore pornography as much as any sexual gay male, but I, also, enjoy a provocative and challenging gay-related movie. This movie is unfortunately in a line of commercial gay films that titilate more than mentally or emotionally stimulate. The acting itself was not bad in itself, but the preponderance of substance abuse gives us the idea that all gay youth struggling for identity and acceptance turn to drugs for their journey to self-acceptance. The softcore pron in the movie was pleasant enough but was out of place for me. There are times when showing less is more creative and stimulating than showing it all. See the movie once, but I would recommend buying it.