Sports movies tend to follow a basic template.
They’re almost always about a lovable underdog (“Rudy, “Cool Runnings,” “Glory Days,” etc.), and they usually end on a note of stirring triumph. They’re inspirational, feel-good stories that rigorously adhere to the conventions and cliches of the genre — in other words, the hero always wins. Which might explain why great sports movies are so rare.
“Sugar” is a baseball movie, but it’s unlike any sports movie I’ve ever seen. The film it reminded me of most was the great documentary “Hoop Dreams,” about two inner-city basketball stars with dreams of playing in the NBA. Like “Hoop Dreams,” “Sugar” is an incisive, socially conscious film that examines the impact of big-money sports on an impoverished community. Its subject: a talented young pitcher from the Dominican Republic named Miguel “Sugar” Santos.
We first meet Sugar at an American-run facility for aspiring Dominican ballplayers, where he works on his pitching and attends English classes where he learns how to say things like “home run” “ground ball” and “I’ve got it.” (According to filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, every major league team has a presence in the Dominican Republic.) A major league scout visits, and Sugar catches his eye. Soon he is headed to a farmhouse in rural Iowa, where he lives with a local couple who bring him to church, forbid him to bring girls back to his room and feed him hearty dinners. Sugar makes an immediate impact on his new team, and appears headed for great things. But then he injures his foot.
For most of its running time, “Sugar” follows the sports movie trajectory pretty closely. But when Sugar injures his foot (SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!), the movie’s scope widens. Sugar does return to the line-up, but he struggles. Another young Dominican arrives, ready to take his place in the rotation. He loses his temper after one particularly rough outing, smashes the water cooler, and is told the money to pay for it will come out of his check. One day he decides not to accompany his team on a road trip, and heads to New York City to look for work. At this point, I finally realized that Sugar was never going to make a triumphant return to the mound, realize his big league dreams and lift his family out of poverty. Instead, his story becomes one that is far more common but seldom told, the story of an immigrant making his uncertain way in America.
Sugar is played by Algenis Perez Soto, in his first film role. Based on one movie, it’s tough to gauge how good an actor he is. But he’s terrific here, in a part that requires him to convey a wide range of emotions without speaking or revealing too much. Apparently Boden and Fleck discovered him playing baseball with some friends in the Dominican Republic. Like many of the characters in “Sugar,” Soto once dreamed of playing baseball in America, and spent several years training in a baseball program. (For more about Soto, click here for a Boston Globe article about the actor, who now lives in Salem, Mass.) Perhaps that’s why he understands Sugar so well. He’s lived this story, or a version of it.
You know, there aren’t that many great baseball movies. But here are some good ones.
1. The Bad New Bears The original, not the remake
2. Bull Durham Kevin Costner’s best role
3. A League of Their Own Even Madonna is good in this film
4. The Pride of the Yankees Gary Cooper makes a good Lou Gehrig, but what makes this film worthwhile is watching Babe Ruth play himself
5. Eight Men Out Schenectady native John Sayles on the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal
6. Fever Pitch Not a great movie, but I have a soft spot for this 2005 romantic comedy (adapted from a Nick Hornby novel) about a fanatical Red Sox fan. Some scenes were filmed during the 2004 World Series.
7.Game 6 A New York playwright’s (Michael Keaton) new play opens on the same night as Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.
8. The Natural Hokey, but it’s got some good scenes
9. Field of Dreams Super-hokey. This movie irritates me. I’m not even sure why I’m including it on this list.
Note: I’ve got two baseball movies, “Bang the Drum Slowly” and “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings,” in my Netflix queue. But I’ve never seen them.
Got a comment? A favorite sports movie? Add your thoughts below or e-mail me at sfoss@dailygazette.net.
