DramaActionThrillerCrime

Sugar Hill

- He wanted power. He wanted revenge. Now he just wants out.

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.

Release Date : 1994-02-25

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : South Street FilmsBeacon CommunicationsBeacon PicturesGhiznoz Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Romello Skuggs

Original Name : Wesley Snipes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Raynathan Skuggs

Original Name : Michael Wright

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mellisa

Original Name : Theresa Randle

Gender : Female

Character Name : Kymie

Original Name : Donald Faison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tutty

Original Name : O.L. Duke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doris Holly

Original Name : Leslie Uggams

Gender : Female

Character Name : Raynathan Skuggs (age 18)

Original Name : Sam Gordon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Roemello Skuggs (age 10)

Original Name : Marquise Wilson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Roemello Skuggs (age 17)

Original Name : Dulé Hill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ricky Goggles

Original Name : Steve Harris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mark Doby

Original Name : Vondie Curtis-Hall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lolly Jonas

Original Name : Ernie Hudson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gus Molino

Original Name : Abe Vigoda

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ella Skuggs

Original Name : Khandi Alexander

Gender : Female

Character Name : Tony Adamo

Original Name : Joe Dallesandro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Raynathan Skuggs (age 11)

Original Name : DeVaughn Nixon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Arthur Romello "A.R." Skuggs

Original Name : Clarence Williams III

Gender : Male

Character Name : Coco's Girlfriend (as Maria Kelley)

Original Name : Maria R. Kelly

Gender : Female

Character Name : Oliver Thompson

Original Name : Sam Bottoms

Gender : Male

Character Name : Worker

Original Name : Anthony Thomas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lucky

Original Name : John Pittman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Y.G. (Young Gun)

Original Name : Michael Guess

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chantal (as Kimberly Russel)

Original Name : Kimberly Russell

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bouncer

Original Name : Karl Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martin David

Original Name : Andre Lamal

Gender : Male

Character Name : Harry Molino

Original Name : Larry Joshua

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sal Marconi

Original Name : Raymond Serra

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sal's Bodyguard

Original Name : Frank Ferrara

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dean

Original Name : Bryan Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nigerian #2 (as Alex A. Brown)

Original Name : Alex Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name : Coco

Original Name : Nick Corello

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lynette (as Natalie Belcon)

Original Name : Natalie Venetia Belcon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Kid

Original Name : Brenden Jefferson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Diva

Original Name : Denetria Champ

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bouncer

Original Name : Abdul Mutakabbir

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bouncer

Original Name : Yusaf Ramadan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nigerian

Original Name : Lord Michael Banks

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nigerian #2

Original Name : Alex Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name : Preacher

Original Name : Phyromn Taylor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doorman at Nightclub

Original Name : Brian Donahue

Gender : Male

Reviews

tmdb28039023

@tmdb28039023

2022-09-03

Sugar Hill is considered the second installment in scripwriter Barry Michael Cooper’s “Harlem Trilogy.” It is also the weakest link, not necessarily a bad thing when the chain also includes New Jack City and Above the Rim (we may, to a certain extent, attribute the varying quality among the three films to being each directed by a a different filmmaker); unfortunately, it isn’t all that good in a vacuum either. Lacking the originality of New Jack, Sugar Hill could be described as The Blackfather (I would also accept Blacklito’s Way), although it reaches much farther back than that; the film is a tragedy in the classic sense of the word – or at least it would be if it didn’t have one scene too many, specifically a tacked-on semi-happy ending (the previous scene, involving a climactic yet clichéd Gun Struggle, doesn’t do the movie any favors either). As a Godfather clone, Sugar Hill knows the words but not the music. For instance, evil drug dealer Lolly Jonas (Ernie Hudson) kills good drug dealer Roemello Skuggs's (Wesley Snipes) best friend Goggles (Steve Harris), but instead of seeking retaliation, and hoping to avoid more bloodshed, Roemello makes a precarious truce with Lolly which is broken by Roemello’s older but less competent brother Raynathan (Michael Wright). At the same time, Roemello is looking to quit the drug business and settle down with his new girlfriend Melissa (Theresa Randle), who rhetorically asks him “Do you know that every time I go out with you, somebody dies?” (that’s a breakup line you don’t hear every day). I get it. I really do. Roemello is Don Corleone – both Mike and Vito –, Goggles is Sonny, Raynathan is Fredo, Melissa is Kay, and so on and so forth. Hell, the cast even includes Abe Vigoda, who played treacherous caporegime Sal Tessio in the first Godfather. On the other hand, what I’m not quite sure about is why exactly Lolly kills Goggles in the first place other than because he’s the bad guy and to speed things along. Another character that exists solely as a victim to be sacrificed on the altar of plot developments is Kymie (Donald Faison), a young, dumb wannabe gangsta who appears in literally two (2) scenes; he’s like Solomon Grundy except he dies on Tuesday instead of Saturday. Something else New Jack has that Sugar Hill doesn’t is perspective. I mentioned above that Roemello is a “good drug dealer”, an assessment made possible because the movie expresses almost no interest in the effects of drug addiction, and when it does, we catch it in a glaring contradiction; the only two characters who experience firsthand the ravages of chemical dependence are Roemello’s parents, so that his becoming a pusher makes as much sense as if the murder of Bruce Wayne’s mother and father had inspired him to become a murderer himself as opposed to a crime fighter.