"Sugar" is one of those rare shows that, despite a bland story, remains watchable. That's probably because of Colin Farrell, and the fact that the eponymous John Sugar private eye he plays is a nice guy who helps homeless people and doesn't take advantage of intoxicated women.
It's not the quirky direction, which relies on constant time jumps and juxtaposed scenes to cover over the slowness of the story. It's not the spliced-in scenes from old black and white movies either. (See! It's a homage!) And it's not really the cast. Colin Farrell is good because Colin Farrell is always good. But Amy Ryan feels a little miscast, honestly, and the rest of the ensemble is just okay.
And it's not the "mysterious past" Sugar has (is he a Jason Bourne super soldier? Is he here from another planet? What's with the typewriter and the note-taking?) or the hint that he lost someone -- a daughter, maybe. A cloudy past and a core wound / great loss are all standard tropes for the genre.
No, it's none of these things that make Sugar watchable despite its bland story (a rich white girl is missing, possibly the victim of domestic abuse, yadda yadda).
It's just that it's kind of fun. Farrell wears cool clothes and drives a fancy car and fights like a bad ass. He acquires a rescue dog that he takes good care of. You believe in him -- whatever he is -- he makes it seem like a guy like this could really exist.
That's it. Four episodes in, that's all that's really going on. If there's nothing else to stream that night, the wife and I will watch Sugar, and be generally satisfied.
See you on down the road.
It's not the quirky direction, which relies on constant time jumps and juxtaposed scenes to cover over the slowness of the story. It's not the spliced-in scenes from old black and white movies either. (See! It's a homage!) And it's not really the cast. Colin Farrell is good because Colin Farrell is always good. But Amy Ryan feels a little miscast, honestly, and the rest of the ensemble is just okay.
And it's not the "mysterious past" Sugar has (is he a Jason Bourne super soldier? Is he here from another planet? What's with the typewriter and the note-taking?) or the hint that he lost someone -- a daughter, maybe. A cloudy past and a core wound / great loss are all standard tropes for the genre.
No, it's none of these things that make Sugar watchable despite its bland story (a rich white girl is missing, possibly the victim of domestic abuse, yadda yadda).
It's just that it's kind of fun. Farrell wears cool clothes and drives a fancy car and fights like a bad ass. He acquires a rescue dog that he takes good care of. You believe in him -- whatever he is -- he makes it seem like a guy like this could really exist.
That's it. Four episodes in, that's all that's really going on. If there's nothing else to stream that night, the wife and I will watch Sugar, and be generally satisfied.
See you on down the road.