There’s sweet and then there’s diabetic and Jadesola Osiberu’s Sugar Rush seems to straddle the line between the two. You may know Jadesola Osiberu from her 2018 fan favourite Isoken.
Although Sugar Rush has been out since Christmas, we only just saw it. And we have to say, it was a sight to see. Before we get into the review, let’s give a background to the story…
The plot
Sugar Rush follows three sisters, Susie, Shola, and Bola, who think they have finally gotten a lucky break by finding $800m at the scene of a gruesome murder.
But unsurprisingly, their possession of this stolen money puts them in the paths of some very dangerous and influential people. From EFCC interrogations to shoot-outs, the Sugar sisters are put through a lot over money they did not know the source of.
The cast
The cast was star-studded, featuring the Etomi-Wellingtons, Bisola Aiyeola, Bimbo Ademoya, Mawuli Gavor, Omoni Oboli, Tobi Bakre, Toke Makinwa, and Instagram star Williams Uchemba to mention but a few.
***SPOILER ALERT***
The accolades
There’s a lot to love about this movie. Sugar Rush has a beautiful production design and a pretty good art direction. The cinematography was on key from start to finish and amped the comedy factor.
There were some exceptionally beautiful shots, like the aerial view of the interrupted prayer session. Coupled with the girls staying to answer the Imam’s questions despite being in a chase, this was a bright spot for the movie.
The elements of visual storytelling merged perfectly with the plotline. The pacing and progression of the movie were great to a certain extent and it was fun to watch the Sugar sisters unable to catch a break between kidnappings.
If you want a good laugh Sugar Rush will give you that. Although there is a bit of cheap humour and Instagram skittery, there are also well-timed jokes that hit the spot just right.
There was great chemistry between the characters in Sugar Rush. You can feel the sisterly love and the dynamics of their relationship and it is really sweet.
It was also pretty fun to see supernatural elements introduced so casually in the middle of the film. Mystical realism, anyone? Haruki Murakami is quaking. Important to note is how, in the end, one of the heroes was weed.
Also, Uzor Arukwe did an amazing job playing Knight. In my opinion, he is the only one that fully immersed himself in the character. Banky with the good hair doesn’t count.
The movie is so funny that you are almost distracted from the gaping plotholes staring you in the face.
Dragging time…
1. Time frame
My first problem with this movie is the time frame in which it all happened After Susie and Sola find the money, the sisters waste no time in foolishly lavishing it on a new house and clothes and a party.
This has to be the most hardly intelligent thing I have ever seen. First off, I’m no real estate agent, but I think it takes more than three days to buy a house. it should take more than three days for law enforcement to pick up on your trail.
But no. The movie happens in the course of a week, which is ridiculous. It would have made more sense if the spending happened over the course of a month and the Sugar girls had settled into their new wealth. The fall would have been that much more dramatic and hilarious.
2. Do you love your mother?
The fact that the sisters’ immediate priority was not their mother’s health was questionable. Cancer is a bit of a movie trend and a drag, but still. Do you not love your mother?
The writers seemed to have been coming up with something and then changed their minds. And then they did not tie up loose ends from the previous structure of their story.
It is very likely that the mother of the Sugar sisters (played by Iya Rainbow) was an afterthought to make us empathize with the girls. Either that or the Sugar girls being sisters was the afterthought because Bola and Shola seem to not care about their mother and are far more alike than Susie
3. The Sugar sisters
Casting the Sugar sisters as Adesuwa Etomi, Bisola Aiyeola, and Bimbo Ademoye as sisters seemed quite random because they do not look related in any way. That part clearly wasn’t thought through.
We know not all siblings look alike, but with Susie, Bola, and Sola, the difference is a bit much. And while a lot of movies require the suspension of disbelief to sink in, I refuse to believe that the Sugar sisters are sisters.
It is as though filmmakers in Nigeria do not know or care about genetics and would rather just cast their faves than care whether or not the story is believable.
4. Late introduction of characters
One of my major gripes with the movie is that new characters seemed to pop up from everywhere. The introduction of characters in the second and third acts was a huge fail in this movie.
Gina (played by Toke Makinwa) was introduced pretty eventfully. But they failed to establish her character as anything but obviously ludicrous because why else would she send the inexperienced Sugar girls to rob heavily-armed and juju’d up Anikulapo?
Speaking of Anikulapo, the plot would have been more rounded if we had heard of him from the beginning of the film. He is supposed to be this looming figure who is frequently referenced, but never seen.
Considering that he is so powerful, the writers should have built anticipation for fans to finally see the Anikulapo that has been so talked about. But no. Not a peep till the second act; and then Banky W comes in with a blond beard.
5. Chief
Sugar Rush begins when Susie and Sola go to meet up with Chief in hopes of scamming some money out of him. But they find him dead with his guards, and soon discover a bag of money under the chair.
If the politician was killed because of his reluctance to share the money (like Mrs. Madueke, the EFCC boss who turned out to be a criminal, said), why didn’t the assassins just take the money with them when leaving?
6. Day and Night
Then after the shootout at night, Anikulapo orders his henchmen to burn Susie and Dan alive. Then all of a sudden, it was daylight. Why did they wait till daylight?
It was as though the cast and the entire set called it a night and decided to continue by 7AM sharp. Or maybe they just didn’t think we would notice the weird time speed.
7. No breadcrumbs
Although I relished the death of Dan’s (played by Mawuli Gavor) idealism, I wish they would have left more clues that the ways of the EFCC boss were not pure.
Maybe if she was pushing for details and subverting due process or something, anything, it would have given the audience that “Aha!” moment. But they clearly don’t rate us like that.
It’s like they’re saying “this guy’s the bad guy” and then “this guy’s also the bad guy” and we’re just supposed to be spoonfed the info instead of having the thrill of coming up with our own theories.
Here are a couple of issues I still have
- Where did Knight the Igbo gangster guy come from? No backstory? We’re supposed to believe he just happened onto them?
- The whole montage of the girls lavishing the money was too long and honestly, kind of dumb.
- Adesuwa Etomi seems to play the same character in all her movies lately. how is she always the voice of reason? It would be cool to watch her stray from this persona they always cast her in.
- The late father of the Sugar girls was obviously nothing but an afterthought.
That said, if you’re looking for a good laugh and you’re not ready to overthink things like I do, then this is a good movie for us. It injects you with Instagram doses of humour, but there’s not much else.
Rating: 6/10