Synopsis
In the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the Mafia steps in when a drug dealer quits his partner brother to lead a straight life with his girlfriend.
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Cast
- Wesley SnipesRomello Skuggs
- Michael WrightRaynathan Skuggs
- Theresa RandleMellisa
- Donald FaisonKymie
- O.L. DukeTutty
- Leslie UggamsDoris Holly
- Sam GordonRaynathan Skuggs (age 18)
- Marquise WilsonRoemello Skuggs (age 10)
- Dulé HillRoemello Skuggs (age 17)
- Steve HarrisRicky Goggles
Recommendations
- 67
Austin Chronicle
Sugar Hill is arguably the most beautiful-looking crime drama since Coppola's Godfather, Part II. Forsaking the glitz and over-the-top grittiness of New Jack City and other recent NYC gangster films, director Ichaso instead opts for the lush, burnished earth-tones of the Corleone clan. It's a dark, rich film, and its lengthy running time of over two hours glides by with only a few annoying snags. - 50
ReelViews
While the story doesn't score points for originality, the themes addressed are important and immediate, and ultimately it's a failure in execution that keeps this film from joining the ranks of a number of recent, memorable pictures chronicling life on the streets and in the ghettos. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Wading through blood is too much of a price to pay for Sugar Hill’s pluses, and it’s a shame the movie business has made it difficult for them to be experienced any other way. - 50
Time Out
The generally strong performances do justice to scriptwriter Barry Michael Cooper's evident desire to avoid the New Jack stereotyping of many contemporary black crime movies; the fluid camera and lush jazz score ensure that it looks and sounds classy; and much of the time the director's understatement and attention to detail are a distinct advantage. However, matters are not helped by an actorly tone, some plot-stopping big speeches, and an often sluggish pace. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Intended as more than a simple genre flick, SUGAR HILL aspires to something like classical tragedy, but it's weighed down by its sense of self-importance. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
Sugar Hill wants to tear up our insides, but I’m afraid the movie leaves us hooting with disbelief instead. - 40
Washington Post
Several graphic scenes of torture and vengeance merely add to the movie's primer of inhuman brutality, and Sugar Hill's tragic, almost Shakespearean climax is undermined by a Band-Aid of a "positive" ending that rings patently and offensively false. - 40
Empire
Sugar Hill wants to be very different to the other Boyz in the Hood style films by using a second rate Spike Lee approach but sadly it doesn't make the film any better, only highlighting its failures. With the market heavily saturated with these 'hood' gangster films, this fails to stand out.
