I was lucky enough to be able to catch this one on the big screen before I picked it up on DVD. There's been a lot said about Sugar, both good and bad. It's not an easy movie to watch - nothing is romanticized or sugar-coated (no pun intended). Director John Palmer has a way of prefacing difficult scenarios with scenes full of humor, leaving the audience emotionally off-balance for most of the film, fluctuating between highly amused and a little horrified. One thing that's constant, however, is the collective opinion of Brendan Fehr's mind-blowing performance. Most people know him from "Roswell", or from the bit parts and ensemble roles he's had in would-be blockbusters ("Biker Boyz") and forgettable thrillers and horror flicks ("The Forsaken", "Christina's House"). Clearly, not the best vehicles to showcase any hidden chops. His work on Roswell often overshadowed leading man Jason Behr, and he has done some little-seen projects that really hinted at a bright future - "Edge of Madness," while not a great movie by any means, made you sit up and watch him. "Sugar" makes it impossible for you to ignore him. It's well-casted in general. The late Andre Noble is charming, convincingly wide-eyed and earnest. Maury Chaykin and Sarah Polley have memorable cameos. Haylee Wanstall is a natural. But it's Fehr's film, from beginning to end. The movie isn't dialogue-heavy. It lets pointed looks and charged silences do a lot of the talking. And it takes an actor with a certain strength, a tangible presence, to pull off, without crossing the line into smarmy or just plain ridiculous. It's one of those roles that teeters on a razor's edge - the balance is so delicate, any wrong move could make the whole thing crash and burn. What's impressive, and ultimately heart-breaking to watch, is that he's able to portray such a flawed character so flawlessly. Every note is pitch-perfect. The easy, cocky control Butch exudes in the beginning, that morphs into a downward spiral of self-destruction, could have been easily mishandled in the hands of another actor. But Fehr slides from one end of the spectrum to the other, seemingly effortlessly, grabbing the audience and yanking them along for the painful ride. The tenderness in his scenes with Noble, the determination in his encounters with clients, the easy comic timing, even the genuine kinship in his onscreen moments with Wanstall... none of that can be taught. By the time the film reaches its conclusion, he's taken you from Butch's early, confident smirk to a lost soul's broken tears and haunted eyes, and you're not watching Brendan Fehr, actor. He's become this character, and given us a glimpse at this kid's tragic life. Perhaps therein lies the flaw in "Sugar." Once Butch fades to black, you're no longer engrossed. While I'm sure the ending was meant to illustrate how he'd influenced this suburban teenager's life, perhaps changed it for the better... Butch is one of those characters, and performances, that lingers, and stays with you long after the running time is over. And as the ending unfolded, all it did was anger me on behalf of the character I'd spent the entire movie watching, discarded and forgotten too soon.
