Sugar

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.

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