Sugar

Welcome to another episode of The "D" List.

Today's review is Sugar. Written and Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

After my tame review of Fighting. I am very happy to write about a much more entertaining film that sadly deserves to be released in a wider capacity.

Sugar tells the story of Miguel "Sugar" Santos played by Algenis Perez Soto. A young pitcher from the Dominican Republic who is at one of the many baseball academy's that are set up there to train and develop potential major league talent.

For those of you not aware of these academy's. Here's a little education. It should be no secret to anyone that Major League Baseball has become a global game with close to 50% of the league if not more comprised of latino players. In fact you can make the case that the top 5 players in the game right now are of latin descent.

Off the top of my head you got.

Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman and my personal favorite
Manny Ramirez - Los Angeles Dodgers Left Fielder
Hanley Ramirez - Florida Marlins Shortstop
Johan Santana - New York Mets Starting Pitcher
Alfonso Soriano - Chicago Cubs Left Fielder
Mariano Rivera - New York Yankees Closer

And although it pains me to say it.

Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees Third Baseman

Those are just a few names but the fact is that every team in the big leagues has several latin players on their active roster and the talent pool continues to grow. And where does some of this talent come from. The Dominican Republic otherwise known as the baseball capital of the world.

For as long as I can remember teams have been scouting the latin countries searching for the next big phenomenon. The problem is that these kids are signed to contracts at a very young age which makes them ineligible to play in the states forcing players to falsify information about their age or even their name. Realizing that this was not going to stop, major league baseball has set up official baseball academy's to teach these kids how to properly play the game, speak english and to prepare them for the potential of living life in the fast lane of the big leagues.

This is where Sugar begins. Miguel is a young talented pitcher that is signed with the Kansas City Knights organization. Like every other kid in these academy's, Miguel lives in a poor neighborhood. He's using baseball as his ticket to a new life. After being looked at by scouts he's invited to attend spring training. He gets promoted to Single A ball in the KC minor leagues.

The film progresses with Miguel staying with a host family, learning to speak english and most importantly pitch in a professional baseball game. He develops a friendship with third baseman Jorge Ramirez played by Rayniel Rufino. Jorge was a top prospect until he injured his knee sidelining him for a while. He returns to play at the same time that Miguel 1st arrives with the team.

As Miguel is lighting it up on the mound, Jorge is struggling which causes the organization to release him. Miguel can't understand why the team would cut him loose especially since the main cause for his poor play is a result of his injury. Jorge simply explains that it's part of the game and the nature of the business of big league baseball. If you can't produce they will replace you with someone who can. Jorge tells Miguel that he's quitting baseball and moving to NY to start a brand new life.

This sends Miguel into a small funk. Then he injures his ankle making a play at first base. This takes him out of the rotation for a while. As he's recovering he starts to have doubts about his place on the team. When Miguel comes back from his injury, he struggles and pitches poorly. To make matters worse for Miguel the team calls up a young pitcher with a rocket arm. He comes in and steals Miguel's thunder as he becomes the toast of the town while Miguel continues to have bad outings on the mound.

I feel that I have given too much away so I'll stop here. The film gets much more interesting after 1 of Miguel's worst pitching performances and takes it to a whole different place that I never saw coming.

That's what I loved and didn't love about Sugar. I loved that the film was grounded in reality and showed you how unbelievably tough it is to make it to the big leagues. The film shows you how a player who is considered untouchable in the dominican can be reduced to average in the US. And also what they do when they feel they can't hack it.

Sadly that's also what I didn't love about Sugar. You really root for this character. You want him to make it. But you have to come to grips with reality that only a chosen special few ever get the chance to step on the field at Yankee Stadium.

Sugar is a fantastic film that takes you into the world of Dominican baseball and the dreams these kids over there strive for each and every day. It shows you in it's truest form how hard it is to truly make it. It does a great job putting you into the world these kids are really in when they are taken from the only home they have ever known to the beginning stages of playing major league baseball.

On the 5 star scale. Sugar gets 4 stars with a "Worth Every Penny" recommendation. Unfortunately since this film is an indie. It's probably not around anymore. It was a minor miracle that it was still playing near me so I could catch it. Should you stumble across it in a local theater however I suggest you buy a ticket, grab some $20 popcorn and enjoy the show.

One quick note. The film is mostly in spanish which means there are subtitles so I hope you like to read your movies. It's not a negative though. Trust me.

That's all for me tonight.

Next up is J.J. Abrams highly anticipated re-imagination of Star Trek.

Until Next Episode.....I'll Save You A Seat!

"D"