Sugar (2008/I)

Directors:

Anna Boden
Ryan Fleck

Writers (WGA):

Anna Boden (written by) &
Ryan Fleck (written by)

Release Date:

5 June 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

Dominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Minor League | Coming Of Age | American Dream | Rags To Riches

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Algenis Perez Soto	...	Miguel 'Sugar' Santos
Rayniel Rufino	...	Jorge Ramirez
Andre Holland	...	Johnson
Ann Whitney	...	Helen Higgins
Ellary Porterfield	...	Anne Higgins
Jaime Tirelli	...	Osvaldo
Jose Rijo	...	Alvarez
Michael Gaston	...	Stu Sutton
Alina Vargas	...	Reyna
Richard Bull	...	Earl Higgins
Kelvin Leonardo Garcia	...	Salvador
Joendy Pena Brown	...	Marcos
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Karl Bury	...	Rudy Hubbard
Greg D'Agostino	...	Gregory the Delivery Man
Larry E. Donaldson	...	Michael Higgins
Barbara P. Engstrom	...	Hilary Higgins
Brandon Gorrell	...	Randy
Chris Harkins	...	Batter - Fight Scene
Taylor Hogue	...	Baseball Fan
Rita Kurtz	...	Dominican Baseball Fan
Eddie Martinez	...	Rafael
Cesar Minaya	...	Pedro
Sabien Minteer	...	Hardy / Team Mascot
Alyssa Simmons	...	Baseball fan
Issac Thomas Richer Smith	...	Clubby
Tom Sponberg	...	Baseball Fan
Randolph Wehofer	...	Jack Jeffries
Michael Robert Yeager	...	Fan at spring training game
Chelsea Zeleny	...	Baseball Fan

Also Known As:

Untitled Dominican Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use.; Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and brief drug use. (dvd edition)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #45356) (dvd edition) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #45356) (DVD edition) | Ireland:12A

Filming Locations:

Burlington, Iowa, USA

Company:

Journeyman Pictures

Trivia:

Some of the last names of the Quad City Swing players in the film were those of actual players on the team. However, they were not portrayed by the real Swing players. During filming, the real players were still in their regular season and then post-season.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While Sugar is riding the bus in Iowa for Spring training, the corn in the fields has tasseled at a time when the soil and weather would prevent it from being planted.

Movie Connections:

References "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" (2002)

A Wonderful Movie in Every Way

What's with the low ratings for this movie? I saw this at the Toronto Film Festival, and people loved it. Is it that some audiences wanted a regular sports movie, with everything leading up to the big game? This follows Dominican ball players and their dreams of making it to the bigs. We go from the Dominican to small town Iowa, then to New York City in a movie that's pitch perfect the whole way. And it got everything right, from how small towns in America watch these young guys grow and progress, to how they're treated like animals when they face injuries or setbacks.

The actors are mostly unknowns, and they give the movie a documentary feel. I especially loved the old couple that takes one ball player in every year, and the minor league baseball manager, who is portrayed very fairly as a guy who pushes his players, but wants to see them make it.

This movie is a home run, pardon the pun, because it transcends the sports genre and becomes a movie about finding one's self worth, no matter where your career path takes you.

I believe that if you want something more from a sports movie than being just a past-time, you'll find it in "Sugar", from the team who directed "Half Nelson", another movie that was more concerned with characters and self-worth over silly plot requirements.

To the low scorers out there I would say don't judge a movie for what it's not, and really look at what it is. Because this is a special movie that never goes wrong.