I am not a fan of sports movies, let alone baseball movies. There's something about the predictable trajectory of a hero who 'overcomes all odds' that just makes me cringe. So it was with some reluctance that I slotted in the only choice left to me the other night: Sugar, the story of a baseball player from the Dominican Republic who struggles to make it to the major league in the United States. Let's just say there was something about the typo-laden blurb at the back that convinced me to take a second look.

I didn't regret it. From the very beginning, Sugar radiates a gritty authenticity. Whether it's in the sports academy where Miguel 'Sugar' Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) is honing his skills, or the run-down, lively neighbourhood outside San Pedro where he dreams of making the big time with his family, it's clear directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have done their research (it helps that most of the dialogue here is in Spanish!).

Of course, Sugar gets his break and moves to the US. But he soon finds out it's not good enough to be just good in the production line of minor league baseball players, when one injury can deny you the one shot you may have of making it. Add to this the cultural shock of moving in with a host family in the midst of the cornfields of Iowa, and Sugar soon becomes a very confused, if perennially charming, young man. For a refreshing take on the genre of sports flicks that will appeal to anyone who has ever emigrated, Sugar's one sweet hit.
RT

Sugar (2008)
Runtime: 120 minutes
Cast: Algenis Perez Soto, Karl Bury, Michael Gaston
Directors: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

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