Vic Sarin’s film “Sugar,” based on the true story of the “Cocaine Cowgirls,” has a decent storyline. The central actors, Katherine McNamara, Jasmine Sky Sarin, and Eric Bruneau, put on a good show that keeps the audience engaged in the movie’s thrill. The mix of influencers and cocaine always sets the stage for a gripping crime thriller. However, despite a promising start, the film loses its momentum. The ending is quite disappointing, lacking a unique factor that could have made it stand out among the many drug-related thrillers releasing every year. Spoilers Ahead!
Sugar (2022) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The movie starts with a young and innocent girl named Melanie waiting to get into a club. She sees another girl named Chloe confidently entering the club, and Melanie really likes her. Chloe is an influencer, and Melanie literally stalks her on Instagram. Melanie sneaks in through a backdoor to get into the club. Inside, she meets a person named Jules, and they hang out together. Later, they meet Chloe again, and Jules asks Chloe to go on a trip around the world with him.
At the club, Chloe has a problem with someone mean, and she tries to run away. Melanie helps her escape, and they spend the night exploring the city and becoming good friends. They connect on Instagram, and Melanie admires Chloe’s fancy life. Melanie hasn’t traveled much, but Chloe seems to live a luxurious life and hangs out with popular people. However, things might not be perfect for Chloe.
Under what circumstances did Chloe and Melanie board the Cruise?
Right after the incident at the club, the same man who was chasing Chloe at the club and later appears at Chloe’s house. Chloe tries to run away, but he catches and threatens her, asking for his money back. She tries asking for some middle ground but doesn’t get any response from that man. Chloe has to put together the amount that she owes to the man; otherwise, the way he has threatened her, there is no chance of getting away. So, even though she rejected Jules’ proposal earlier, Chloe feels like she has no choice but to agree to the trip to make some money.
She asks Melanie to come along on the trip, and Melanie gets really excited and agrees because she thinks it will be a fun, fancy trip that someone else will pay for. At first, Melanie doesn’t know what’s really going on, but by the time she figures it out, it’s too late. Melanie is just a regular girl who wants to explore new things, but it might end up costing her a lot. Chloe tells Melanie about how things actually work for influencers, like how they get away without paying anything. She even gives her a diamond bracelet as a loan and asks her to entertain the guests in order to enjoy the vacation.
What happens after the Tour starts?
They both get on the cruise ship, and Chloe becomes friends with a crew member named Emma. Chloe uses her natural charm to get a fancy room on the ship. She also teaches Melanie how to act like she’s living a glamorous life by taking pictures in cool places and making up stories that everyone likes. While they’re on the cruise, Chloe and Melanie become closer, and Chloe shares some things about her past. Meanwhile, we see a guy named Ernie somewhat threatening Jules about a snitch inside the team. He sends two of his men, Carl and Sean, along with Jules on the trip.
The diamond bracelet that Chloe gave to Melanie is handed over as planned, and later Melanie understands that Chloe has used her to smuggle the diamonds. However, things get out of hand when Carl suddenly decides to run away with the bracelet without letting anyone know. Melanie is slowly giving herself over to Sean, who genuinely likes her, and she doesn’t know much about anything else.
So, one day, when Sean goes out with Chloe and Melanie, Carl takes the chance to escape from the cruise with the diamonds. When Sean hears about this he gets into a car that leads to Alfonso, the person the diamonds actually belong to. Chloe and Melanie also followed Sean just for fun but it did not end up well for them. However, they somehow manage to escape Alfonso’s men and end up on the cruise again, where Jules is now doubting each one of them.
What exactly do Chloe and Melanie do with the drugs?
Sean and Jules stash a lot of cocaine in Melanie and Chloe’s room, hiding it in the ceiling. Chloe finds it and works with Melanie to get rid of the drugs. Melanie sneaks the drugs into Jules’s room while Chloe distracts him. They also find out that their passports are missing. They escape the boat with Emma’s help and find another way to use the boat. Sean discovers from an Instagram post that the girls are in the city. Later, Jules and Sean intercept the girls in the city before they can seek help from the embassy there. Jules holds Melanie at gunpoint to get Chloe to reveal where the drugs are.
Melanie starts worrying about Chloe because she has started taking a lot of drugs and not thinking clearly. Jules takes Melanie with him for a deal leaving Chloe behind, saying that she is too wasted to make it. But the actual plan is to get rid of Melanie once and for all. Chloe, feeling miserable, finds out that Carl is dead from the news. She tells Melanie to run away as she has already figured out by now that Jules is trying to kill Melanie.
Melanie tries to escape, but Sean manages to catch her in the woods. Instead of hurting her, Sean gives Melanie her passport and some money. He warns her that things are more serious than they seem, and he suggests Melanie run away, too, as Chloe can not be saved. They send a fake image of Melanie’s dead body so Jules stops thinking about her. When Chloe sees the image, she breaks down and decides to dump all the drugs into the sea. However, Melanie fails to resist herself from saving Chloe, as she decides to meet her. They decide to keep the drugs hidden in their suitcase to try and buy their freedom one last time.
Sugar (2022) Movie Ending Explained:
Who is behind Melanie and Chloe’s arrest?
When the cruise arrives in Sydney, Chloe and Melanie manage to escape from the authorities. They try to act like part of the crew and plan how to get away, but they see officers checking the crew’s stuff and IDs. Chloe sees the DJ from the party and asks him for a ride. They get stopped by two guards, but luckily, they get away again. They reach their hotel without getting caught and feel happy as they’re finally free.
But just as they’re about to celebrate, the police come in and arrest them. They cry on the floor while the police find drugs hidden in their bags. They’re questioned, and a lawyer shows up, hinting they should admit they’re guilty. Chloe figures out the lawyer works for Jules and tells him to leave. He warns them that things could get worse if they don’t cooperate.
Melanie gets a surprising call in jail from Sean, who apologizes and explains that they were part of a plan to catch drug dealers. He was caught earlier and had to help in the plan to save himself. However, Melanie was never the target and he feels remorse seeing where she has ended up. At the end of the film, we see Chloe calling her mom from jail, and Melanie’s dad visits her in jail. Melanie didn’t expect him to understand, but she tried to make him realize she didn’t know what was really going on until it was too late.
Is ‘Sugar’ (2022) Based On a True Story?
Yes. This film is based on the very popular story of two Canadians admitting they brought drugs into Australia. Their plea ended the well-known case of two stylish women from Quebec caught with bags of cocaine on a fancy cruise ship. They shared pictures of their trip on social media, wearing revealing outfits. Mélina Roberge, 25, and Andre Tamine, 65, confessed in court in Sydney, Australia. Earlier, their friend Isabelle Lagace, 30, who used to be in adult movies, also admitted guilt in November. People called them “cocaine cowgirls,” like the drug dealers from south Florida in the 1980s known as “cocaine cowboys.”
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