SUGAR is a touching story that gives viewers a glimpse into the growing homeless youth population in Venice Beach, but it’s still missing a few morsels.
Based on the nine months director Rotimi Rainwater spent on the streets, SUGAR is the story of a young girl who took to the streets after losing her entire family in a car crash. On the streets, she and her outcast friends look out for one another and survive however they can. To them, living on the streets is a better option than the lives that they ran away from.
This film was made with a lot of heart. Shenae Grimes (Sugar), as well as the rest of the cast, took care and consideration into the roles that they were playing. Whether it be a drug addict or a thief, the film still showed the humanity behind it. Having said that, I would have liked to have seen the characters developed a little more, and been given a better look into why these characters ended up on the street. The focus of the movie is to draw attention to the growing population of homeless youth. Anyone that has been to Venice Beach has been made aware of it. Groups of homeless kids and young adults are scattered across the beach and boardwalk hanging with their friends, and trying to survive.
Although the acting in this film was great (with the exception of the counselor), one actor stood out to me above the rest. Corbin Bleu plays Sketch, a young man with mental illness who enjoys sketching people. His character is not in the film for long periods of time, but he definitely makes an impact. It’s great to see him take on diverse roles, and his performance is wonderful in this film.
Overall, I found the film to be interesting, but a bit long. If more time was spent diving into the characters, or focusing more on their everyday lives I think it would have worked better. Heck, one of my favorite parts was when a few of the kids were sitting around, talking about how they would rather be on the street than in the homes they grew up in. The problem is that this scene was fleeting. It was a quick conversation. Another time I boy brought up his past, but only a sentence or two about it. I would have really liked to have learned more. Instead, too much time is spent lagging, or focusing on the characters having fun with each other. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing the characters having fun together, but as a viewer I didn’t become as invested in these characters as I should have. The film is a touching tale, but it only focuses on the surface of the problem – and it only gives us a glimpse into one girls story. Based on the purpose of this film, it doesn’t focus enough on what we can do to help. People should have the urge to do something once they see this film, and I think it misses that mark.
Overall Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
FOR MORE INFO:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TheSugarFilm
WEBSITE: www.thesugarmovie.com
Traverse Media will release SUGAR in Los Angeles on Friday, November 22 at the Downtown Independent. The film has a running time of 93 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.
In support and in conjunction with National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, SUGAR has also created FIGHTING FOR THE HOMELESS (http://igg.me/at/Filmanthropy/x/3548242), an Indiegogo Campaign with a goal to feed 10,000 homeless youth and draw awareness to the growing issue of homelessness. SUGAR has partnered with Subway, The National Coalition for the Homeless, My Friends Place, and Attention Homes in order to reach their goal of feeding 10,000 hungry and educating and inspiring the public to get involved. 80% of proceeds from this campaign will go towards the partnered organizations and shelters throughout the country in order to help them to continue their invaluable work towards feeding the hungry, eradicating homelessness and providing a safe haven for those plagued by life on the streets.
