Sugar

This small budget Canadian production shot in and around Toronto has acquired something of a cult status due to the untimely death of its young star. Andre Noble as young gay male Cliff exudes a kind of sheepish naiveté as he turns 18 and seeks to explore his sexuality.

The film is a character study of young Cliff who gets into the underside of the gay world in his coming out by hooking up with street hustler Brendan Fehr. The two of them help each other out in many ways until tragedy strikes on the film as well as in real life.

Playing another street kid is former Power Ranger Jeffrey Parazzo. The former White Ranger from the Dino Thunder edition gets a chance to bare all for art.

Only the fact that Andre Noble did not break into the big market with a popular TV series or big budget movie success has not gained him the fame of a River Phoenix. Accidentally ingesting some kind of deadly poison that grows wild in his native Newfoundland is one of the freakiest demises I've ever read about. Still Sugar is going to be his premature epitaph.

No great production values in Sugar, but the cast performs well and knowing about what happened to young Mr. Noble brings an additional poignancy to his performance that could not be anticipated.

Based on short stories by Bruce La Bruce, this is NOT your typical teen romance.

Cliff is just turned 18 and is aching to spread his gay wings a bit. He's never been with another boy but he knows he wants to. His single mom is cool and accepting and though she tries to shelter both of her children she's got her hands full with Cookie, Cliff's precocious "hyper-even-on-Ritalin" sister. Just one example of the kid sis's pluck... for Cliff's birthday she gives big brother Cliff a mini bottle of Vodka, a joint and instructions to go get laid.

Cliff follows his little sister's instructions and heads downtown where he meets Butch, a crack addicted street hustler with heart of gold and sexy eyes.

Cliff thinks that he's game for anything and disregards Butch's protestations that he's trouble. Cliff and Butch quickly become an item and Cliff tries a smörgåsbord of drugs, gets a tattoo that matches Butch's and even accompanies Butch on a trick.

Obviously this isn't gonna turn out well, but unlike many other movies of this ilk, Cliff realizes it and pulls back. He's been changed forever by his experiences and while he's better for what he's lived through, he's unable to help Butch and he sees him drifting away knowing he's powerless to change someone else.

What makes this different from other films of this type are the realizations that are presented to us. For example, just how much Cliff has changed is really brought home in one scene where another kid from his high school tries to ask Cliff to the prom. Cliff realizes that he's got almost nothing in common with this young man that could have easily been him had he NOT met Butch.

Another example is a trick that Butch has with an extremely obese woman. While Butch protests that he did it for the money, Cliff and the audience know that Butch did it as an act of compassion.

Cliff is played by Andre Noble an adorable young man with great puppy-dog eyes. Butch is played by Brendan Fehr who played Michael in the WB series Roswell.

I don't understand the people who say that the movie has no depth. The most in depth character portrayal was of Butch - the hustler who seems like a really good guy underneath. I don't think it is a requirement to have any backstory to actually get this.

The movie is also very amusing in parts - you just have to get the humour that is going on. At the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Film Festival showing that I saw, the majority of the audience got the humour and laughed along.

In actual fact, you're dosed with the nice and amusing and even heartwarming, and then you get a complete smack in the head when Butch does something to his best buddy. I won't say anymore for fear of spoiling it.

I didn't rate this film higher because of a couple of implausible things, such as the little sister (a complete laugh and a half, but implausible nonetheless), and how the film opens. From birthday bash to the streets in minutes. However, I did get the symbolism of the skateboard, which no-one else seems to have noticed or mentioned, and which I thought was rather good.

Overall, I enjoyed the film very much, and would recommend it to just about anybody.

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.

This goes into one of the ten best movies I've seen. I was blown away by every aspect of this film. The acting, cinematography, directing, and writing kept me enthralled and astounded through the mere 80 minutes of this film. Strangely, I rented this at Blockbuster, and I'm sure quite a few people must be unhappy with this non-mainstream rental. As someone who has experienced and seen the dark side this movie depicts without actually crossing over (much like the main character), I can't say I have ever seen a more realistic representation. I find the characters fully realized, and my hats off to all the participants in this film. It was edgy, non-mainstream, and risk-taking for all involved. I'm amazed and delighted (through turns of emotion) at this effort. Special congrats to Sarah Polley and Brendan Fehr for participating in this film.