Sugar

Sugar tells the story of Miguel “Sugar” Santos, a young Dominican with a good fastball and a potentially nasty curve trying to make his ways up from the local baseball academy to the big leagues. While it gives audiences a great inside view of what it takes to make it to the show – the training, the pressure and the uncertainty – Sugar really only uses baseball as a background to explore the American Dream as seen through the eyes of someone who wasn’t just handed it at birth, but is more than willing to risk everything he has to get his share. Newcomer Algenis Perez Soto is particularly effective in the title role, perfectly capturing the uncertainty of Sugar’s day to day struggles, whether it’s getting his curve to break over the plate or figuring out what to order on the diner menu that’s printed in a language he can’t read. Veteran character actor Jaime Tirelli is also very good as Osvaldo, the seasoned Bronx businessman who helps Sugar find his potential off the field.