Sugar Rush Parent Guide

Susie Sugar (Adesua Etomi-Wellington) is the most enterprising of the three Sugar sisters. Desperate to fund her widowed mother’s expensive cancer treatment, Susie is selling “Compound V”, which is almost certainly a bogus aphrodisiac, to wealthy men. Her two sisters, Bola and Sola (played by Bimbo Ademoye and Bisla Aiyeola), who are Nigeria’s equivalent to “Dumb and “Dumber”, are completely obsessed with shopping and partying. One evening, Sola’s attempt to charm money from an elderly man coincides with Susie’s plan to sell him some Compound V and the two women find his dead body, along with a duffel bag full of cash. Sola is convinced that the money is a gift from God, and despite Susie’s better judgment, they take the money home.

Susie is anxious about the windfall and counsels caution, but Bola and Sola have no self-control and within three days they have burned through $150,000. A new house, cars, clothes, parties…you name it; the women have thrown money at it. Not surprisingly, this burst of big spending catches the attention of two groups – the police and the criminal underworld. Susie, Bola, and Sola are soon to be trapped between both factions, with old family secrets serving to make their stake in the conflicts even more personal.

I have to admit that I have no experience with Nigerian cinema and can’t tell you how this production compares to other movies from the region. I also don’t know if there are cultural subtleties that I’m missing. What I can tell you is that Sugar Rush doesn’t stand up well to Hollywood’s comic thrillers. It feels like a made-for-TV movie from the 1970s with poor writing and a ludicrous plot. Perhaps the most ridiculous part of the story is its clumsy incorporation of magical elements – an invisible car and a man who can’t be shot – none of which are ever explained in terms of either technology or enchantment. If that isn’t bad enough, the film is burdened by lots of hammy, scenery-chewing actors. Uzor Arukwe as Knight is particularly notable for the sheer awfulness of his performance. He shouts all his dialogue, although, to be fair, he might be yelling to be heard over the “sound of doom” music that plays whenever he appears on screen.

There aren’t a lot of reasons to watch this film, but if you decide to make it a family movie night feature, you can be reassured that it falls into the PG-13 range. Profanity and sexual content are almost non-existent and the only real issue in the movie is violence. There are disturbing scenes where women are tied up and then hung from their wrists, and a scene where people are tied up and have flammable liquid poured all over them. There are also frequent fist fights and scenes where guns are pulled and fired. Sadly, there are no positive messages in the movie either, aside from a few brief discussions of fighting governmental corruption. Sugar Rush doesn’t rush – its pacing is uneven – and it certainly isn’t a sweet treat either. If you’re looking for an after-dinner movie treat, there are far better films to watch.