☰
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Sugar

Play trailer Poster for Sugar R Released Apr 3, 2009 1h 58m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 137 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Like many young men in the Dominican Republic, 19-year-old Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) dreams of winning a slot on an American baseball team. Indeed, his talents as a pitcher eventually land him a slot on a single-A team in Iowa, but culture shock, racism and other curveballs threaten to turn Sugar's dream sour.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Sugar

Sugar

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Sugar is an exceptionally-crafted film -- part sports flick, part immigrant tale -- with touching and poignant drama highlighted by splendid performances.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (137)
Matt Singer The Rumpus Sugar is worth seeing not because it invalidates baseball's meritocracy, or because it makes us feel guilty for enjoying the national pastime, but because it shows us with empathy and insight how baseball players are more than what they do on the field. Sep 18, 2017 Full Review Nicole Armour Film Comment Magazine Sugar's personal achievement is uplifting-and it's also cause for celebration when artists create just for the love of the game. Oct 20, 2014 Full Review David Parkinson Empire Magazine This captures many moving moments and atmospheres in the diverse settings, bu the narrative arc isn't quite as engaging as it could be. Rated: 3/5 May 9, 2014 Full Review Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) I was really taken by how slick and emotional the film is, and by the striking lead performance for Algenis Perez Soto as the titular Dominican ballplayer, whose nickname is Sugar. Mar 25, 2025 Full Review Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site Sugar is a bittersweet commentary about the cutthroat path to the American leagues for Dominican ballplayers. Mar 5, 2021 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens A hopeful story, a heartwarming story, an entertaining story... Nov 15, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (469)
Stephen C Success in 1 hour and 58 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Language, Brief Drug Use and Some Sexuality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $1,100,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/07/25 Full Review KB B This was an engaging sports movie with good acting and storyline. It had plenty of baseball but more than one heartfelt moments as well. It's definitely worth the watch. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/24/24 Full Review Audience Member Ascesa e declino di un giovane talento del baseball; "Sugar" offre una visione molto completa e personale del complesso mondo che gira intorno allo sport professionistico. Il protagonista purtroppo rende un po' troppo macchinosi alcuni passaggi per la sua estrema introversia. Reso molto chiaro il problema del cambio di lingua; ed il finale è molto interessante, specialmente l'ultima scena. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Not my type of film. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member If you love baseball, you'll love this movie. This is the story of a Dominican teenager who is picked up by the Kansas City Baseball Academy in the Dominican, signed to a minor league contract, and sent to spring training in Arizona. From there we follow him to his first team, and watch him deal with baseball struggles, an injury, learning English and learning a new culture. It's a coming of age movie as well as a baseball movie, and I recommend it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member I enjoyed this movie, it turned out a bit different than I expected, but it was a Hollywood-ized movie into the struggles of immigrants. The French Toast thing is something I can relate to as a son of immigrants, LOL. I'd recommend the movie. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Sugar

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Anna Boden

Director

Ryan Fleck

Director

Algenis Perez Soto

Miguel "Sugar" Santos

Rayniel Rufino

Jorge Ramirez

André Holland

Brad

Michael Gaston

Stu

More Like This

View All
Last Days 58% 50% Last Days Watchlist Wit 83% 91% Wit Watchlist Citizen X 86% 86% Citizen X Watchlist Explicit Ills 54% 39% Explicit Ills Watchlist Gran Torino 81% 90% Gran Torino Watchlist TRAILER for Gran Torino Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Sugar

View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Like many young men in the Dominican Republic, 19-year-old Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) dreams of winning a slot on an American baseball team. Indeed, his talents as a pitcher eventually land him a slot on a single-A team in Iowa, but culture shock, racism and other curveballs threaten to turn Sugar's dream sour.
Director
Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Producer
Paul Mezey, Jamie Patricof, Jeremy Kipp Walker
Screenwriter
Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
HBO Films
Rating
R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexuality)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 3, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.1M
Runtime
1h 58m
Most Popular at Home Now