[yasr_overall_rating]
Damon Gameau embarks on an experiment to document the effects of a high sugar diet on a healthy body.
Damon Gameau’s study on the effects of sugar on a healthy human body starts with a montage of colorful confectionery products, scored to Depeche Mode’s “I Just Can’t Get Enough.” This is both an effective and obvious way of establishing the somewhat-playful, (very mildly) satirical tone the flawed but well-meaning “That Sugar Film” adopts, to approach the serious issue of sugar-caused obesity in contemporary societies.
Gameau, who wrote, directed, produced and picked himself as the subject of the documentary, takes viewers on a journey, from his home in Australia to the United States and back, wherein he starts at an above-average health and then literally sweetens his way into a near-psychotic frenzy, by eating an average of 40 teaspoons of sugar a day. Supervised by doctors and nutritionists, this rapid switch from a no-sugar regiment to a high-sugar diet results in mood swings, visceral fat around his waist, clearly visible after just 12 days; after 28 days, his liver “turns to fat.” His pregnant partner Zoe comments he’s very easily distracted – but his preoccupied state of mind could also be – at least partially – justified by the making of this elaborate documentary…while Zoe is pregnant, mind you. (Great timing to purposefully screw up your health, Damon! Tsk-tsk.) At the end, it’s not about the actual calories – though he gained weight and had a variety of hazardous effects on his body, Gameau’s calorie intake hasn’t changed from before he embarked on this “adventure” – it’s about the source of those calories.
Celebrities like Hugh Jackman and Stephen Fry show up briefly in fragmentary, historical – and irritatingly pedagogical – interludes. Actor Brenton Thwaites appears for all of 30 seconds, just so the host can go inside his toned body in a badly-animated sequence, riding glucose cells. I felt like I was back in my high school biology class, watching an educational video. The addition of celebrities is a gimmick that adds no value, except potentially drawing in a wider audience.
While in the United States, which we all know is the land of obesity, Gameau marvels at Jamba Juice’s sugar content for a good several minutes. He also encounters country bumpkin Larry, who is addicted to Mountain Dew, and proceeds to get dentures, shown in graphic, painful detail – and then resolutely keeps drinking Mountain Dew, the stubborn loon. Our host’s incisive U.S. adventure concludes with a half-baked inquiry into the machinations that go on behind the curtains of sugar industries, who (gasp!) fund research studies on sugar’s health effects. My mind was blown at the possibility of such corruption in a country known for its straightforwardness.
The highlight of “That Sugar Film” comes when Gameau ventures into the small aborigine town of Amata and witnesses a high consumption of sugar in a culture that’s historically been known for barely having any sugar in their diet. Introduction of Coca-Cola changed that forever: obesity prevailed, along with a slew of long-term health effects, which led to the small town rebelling…But even with Coke gone, without a proper regiment, they started to resort to other sugary products, and their health now continues to deteriorate. The oldest living culture on Earth is in danger of disappearing. This is a much more affecting and relatable fact than the personal experiment of a well-off documentarian.
Some other (questionable) facts along the way are mildly interesting: we eat an average of six kilograms of sugar a week; if we were to remove all sugar items from supermarket shelves, only 20% of products would remain; sugar mood fluctuations can lead to panic attacks; in 1955 Dwight Eisenhower had a heart attack, which led to heart disease research blaming sugar as a highly probable cause. Though mildly diverting, those factoids could also be easily looked up online within seconds.
While some of the science in “That Sugar Film” can’t be argued with, Gameau’s research methods are dubious: he measures his sugar intake very approximately, as displayed in his “intricately mathematical” calculations at breakfast, or when he eats sugar ON his roasted chicken, which is gross and just unnecessary. Gameau is a TV actor who makes for a surprisingly bland protagonist, jumping around in his yellow briefs a bit too much, and also popping up in a “WTF” dance video at the end. (Seriously, I don’t know what to make of that video. It’s almost worth watching the entire film for…almost.)
Frequent animations, understated special effects and quirky editing enhance the narrative, but also remind that without those embellishments, the documentary would be quite dull, a rehashed “Super Size Me” about facts we should already know: corporate giants rule us, excessive sugar consumption is bad…I’m not saying the world doesn’t need a reminder, but “That Sugar Film” is too self-indulgent, too diluted in its research and conclusion, and too didactic to truly resonate. It made me (guiltily) want an ice-cream Snickers afterwards.
Available on DVD September 1st
