Sugar (Unrated)
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Canada
Movie Reviews of Sugar (Unrated)
Movie Review: A Much Maligned Film That Has Many Merits
Summary: 4 Stars
SUGAR is one of those films that polarizes audiences: there are those who loathe the 'bad rap' it presents of the gay underground life and there are those that are in the Bravo camps of the stars. Based on short stories by Bruce La Bruce, SUGAR takes a look at the dark side of male prostitution in Toronto, hustlers on drugs, warpy families (and lack of family), and the idiosyncrasies of johns. And if these topics present a problem to viewers, then this is probably not a film to recommend.
However, for those who want a ground-level view of the world of male hustlers in Canada (and everywhere in the big cities around the world), then this script by Todd Klinck as directed by John Palmer rolls like a kaleidoscope of constantly changing aspects of this corner of society.
Cliff (Andre Noble) is celebrating his 18th birthday watching and acting out on his sexual confusion. His family consists of a mother (Marnie McPhail) who at least tries to be a supportive contemporary mom, and a bizarre sister Cookie (Haylee Wanstall) who requires Ritalin to maintain some semblance of normalcy while being very in tune with the 'world' Cliff is attempting to enter.
After a birthday at home, Cliff wanders the streets of Toronto and accidentally (?) encounters a cruising site for gay hustlers, trannies, and prostitutes. His flat affect is suddenly changed and the world that embraces his closeted gay bent opens up to him. His eyes fall on one Butch (Brendan Fehr) and for the first time in his life he has physical contact with another person! Butch is stunningly handsome, has a warm heart, flirts with Cliff yet warns him they cannot be anything but friends. Cliff falls in love, follows Butch through his various johns, partakes in Butch's always expanding drug habit, and eventually is used in an encounter for one of Butch's tricks - an encounter that breaks Cliff's idealistic infatuation with a moment of reality.
From that moment the film winds down with some tragic events permanently altering Cliff's view of the world and his place in it. Yes, the story has been used before, but this time along with the expected drug use extremes and deterioration of character, Palmer stalls at significant moments to share some of the sad pathology of various johns in an understanding light. There is a lot of sensitivity with the collection of characters in this film and that is a breath of fresh air.
The acting is generally high quality, especially from Brendan Fehr, Andre Noble, Haylee Wanstall, Marnie McPhail, and Sarah Polley. Roles such as Butch and Cliff call for a great deal of courage on the part of actors. While there is considerable frontal nudity on the part of the background hustlers, the 'stars' are allowed to show passion and activity without the focus being on nudity.
Though this is a dark film about a dark subject, there is enough 'light' to warrant the attention of a larger public. You just have to really look for it! Grady Harp, November 2004
Movie Review: Good & Gritty!
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: This is not meant to be a pretty movie.
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Impulsive Love with Hustling Side Stories
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Brendan Fehr's Fearless Performance
Summary: 4 Stars
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.