‘Too Much Sugar’ Review: A Lively and Authentic Portrait of Small-Town America, in Which the Characters Become Masters of Their Own Stories
Robert Greene's hybrid documentary "Too Much Sugar," which premiered in the Orizzonti sidebar at the Venice Film Festival, continues the director's signature style of blending fact, fiction and collaborative filmmaking, following earlier works "Bisbee '17" and "Procession." The film focuses on two working-class friends from the small rural town of Moberly, Missouri, offering a rare and intimate glimpse into an under-represented corner of small-town America. It matters as another instalment of Greene's distinctive "cine-therapy" approach, in which real people play themselves while also performing scripted reenactments they help create.
The film centres on Ryan Holliger, a 40-something father of six children by five different mothers who spent four years in prison before becoming a labourer and boxer, and his best friend and fellow carpenter Michael Midgyett. Structured around each family member conceiving their own mini-movie, the narrative shifts when Midgyett's story takes over following the revelation that his 16-year-old son was killed in a mass shooting, leading to raw, emotionally authentic scenes as both men confront personal trauma before the film builds towards a warm, staged "happy ending" celebrating friendship and family.
- Robert Greene's hybrid documentary premiered at Venice's Orizzonti sidebar.
- Follows two Missouri friends blending real life with staged reenactments.
- One man's grief over his son's death in a shooting anchors the film.
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Robert Greene is an American filmmaker known for blurring the line between documentary and fiction, often getting his real-life subjects to re-enact and reshape their own stories on camera. His new film, "Too Much Sugar," is the latest in this style, following two working-class friends, Ryan Holliger and Michael Midgyett, in the small town of Moberly, Missouri. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival, in a section called Orizzonti that showcases new and innovative filmmaking.
The film follows Holliger, a father of six with a past prison sentence, and Midgyett, his best friend and fellow carpenter, as they and their families help construct dramatised versions of their own lives. Partway through, the focus shifts to Midgyett after the disclosure that his teenage son was killed in a mass shooting, bringing a heavier, more personal turn to the project.
The film matters as a continuation of Greene's ongoing body of work exploring grief, family and identity through collaborative storytelling with non-actors, following earlier projects such as "Bisbee '17" and "Procession." It also offers a look at a part of American life, small-town, working-class Missouri, that receives comparatively little attention in mainstream film.