The small city of Moberly, Missouri has just under 14,000 residents, but only one of them is Ryan J. Hollinger, a charismatic “carpenter, fighter and father” who has aspirations of making his own movie. Filmmaker Robert Greene met him at a middle school basketball game where Ryan was loudly providing plays from the bleachers; a few years later he set out to help him realise his dream. Too Much Sugar is as much an excuse for much-needed family bonding time as it is a filmmaking exercise, with Ryan’s mother Candy, partner Amanda, and children Tray, Gavin, Hank, Wayde, Bonnie and Ja’ryan all along for the ride along with his best friend Michael ‘AccRite’ Midgyett and Michael’s daughter Auveon. The rowdy but warm ensemble all have ideas about what their dream movie would be, but Ryan’s vision is simple: he wants to make a film about two dads who didn’t have dads, figuring it out as they go.
Greene has become well known on the indie film circuit for his inventive blurring of the lines between fact and fiction while utilising personal, often painful, human stories. In the case of Too Much Sugar, part of the narrative is informed by AccRite’s experience losing his 16-year-old son to gun violence after he was shot at a house party. The devastation this has caused AccRite, his wife and his other children is palpable; he has an idea for a film called ‘Rewind’ where he depicts an alternate timeline where he was able to save his son and watch him grow up. AccRite sees the opportunity to work with Greene and Hollinger as a chance for catharsis; he speaks openly about his desire for emotional release, which has previously occurred in less productive ways.
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The potential of filmmaking as a tool for emotional processing underpins Greene’s narrative here, as it did in his previous films Procession, Bisbee ’17 and Kate Plays Christine. His gentle approach to his subject doesn’t compromise on balance; he’s unafraid to show the less savoury aspects of Ryan and AccRite’s lives, and to even challenge the narrative Ryan puts forward. While Hollinger makes for an effortlessly charming rough-around-the-edges protagonist, it’s the supporting cast of his loved ones who make the film what it is, from his melancholy 24-year-old son Gavin, who didn’t know Ryan was his father until he was 14, to his level-headed 12-year-old daughter Bonnie, who espouses the merits of therapy and her goal to become one when she’s older.
Throughout the film, Greene enables his cast to realise their individual dream projects including Tray’s wrestling epic and Candy’s horror movie (In one of the film’s most entertaining scenes she gleefully reels off a list of her favourite horror films, including Terrifier 3 and The Devil’s Rejects). For some the experience is a fun diversion; for others it’s transformative, tapping into personal battles or feelings previously unvoiced. In the process, Too Much Sugar challenges prevalent myths about working class America and modern masculinity while highlighting the possibility of breaking violent cycles.
Crucially, there’s no cloying sense of voyeurism here; no self-satisfied bourgeois filmmaker swanning into a community to which he does not belong and exploiting their story for personal gain. Greene’s film is that rare beast which feels like it belongs to the people within it, so much so that even the dizzy looseness of the narrative structure merits forgiveness.
