SUGAR (2008)

Writing/directing partners Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck tackle the lower fringes of Major League Baseball by following the early career moves (professional & personal) of hot Dominican pitching prospect ‘Sugar' as he tries to ride a newly acquired split-fingered curveball from his local Dominican Minor League team thru ‘A,’ ‘Double A.’ and ‘Triple A’ ball.  Odds are against him; much as the odds are against a film that has so many hackneyed tropes it needs to touch base on.  And that’s where this little film cuts itself loose, giving us all the stranger-in-a-strange land, fast American learning curve, sophomore slump, fish-out-of-water, Dominican Catholic goes Farm Belt Presbyterian (terrifying/hilarious) clichés you could want.  But freshened not only by the film’s big open heart, but even more by sliding into third (that’s Third Act not third base) with a shift in focus from Baseball Experience to Immigrant Experience.  And because Boden/Fleck take inspiration less from Hollywood payoffs than from outlier reality independents like Mike Leigh and even the Dardenne Brothers, that third act turn from perfect grass on a professional diamond to inner-city loneliness & hustle proves the best part of a remarkably satisfying film.  Wonderfully acted by a bunch of non-pros & first-timers, plus a lump-in-your-throat curtain call (or is it a line-up?) to wrap things up on a positive note.

DOUBLE-BILL:  Ron Shelton’s BULL DURHAM/’88 still the film to beat for a slick Hollywood effort on the Minors.

SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY:  A Personal Story.  The very first joke I can recall is (re)used in this film!  Eastern European immigrant with no English comes to America.  He eventually learns two words: Apple Pie.  At last he can order something at the local diner!  But as man cannot live on apple pie alone, he soon learns to say ‘Ham Sandwich.’  Screwing his courage to the sticking place, he asks the waitress for ‘Ham Sandwich.’  ‘White or Rye?’ she asks.  At a loss, he shrugs his shoulders, sighs and says, ‘Apple Pie.’  Here, it’s French Toast and Eggs Scrambled, Over-Easy or Sunny Side Up, but elsewise the exact same joke.