The sour side to the sweet life

Australian actor Brenton Thwaites is one of the celebrities who pop up in That Sugar Film.

Australian actor Brenton Thwaites is one of the celebrities who pop up in That Sugar Film.

Published Jul 31, 2015

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Theresa Smith

A COLOURFUL, zippy reminder of what we learnt, but never internalised, at school, this is an entertaining way of teaching the family about what happens to your body when you eat too much sugar.

Filled with animated sequences and cameos starting with Hugh Jackman, the documentary is educational and entertaining. While the pop-up special effect, gimmicks and animation might seem twee to adults, it attracts the attention of the children least likely to listen to adults spout useful information.

Centred on a two-month experiment by Gameau, the film also incorporates interviews with doctors and scientists and case studies of an Aboriginal Australian community’s experience plus a trip to a town in Kentucky, US.

A la Super Size Me, Gameau partakes in a food experiment, but instead of overdoing things like Morgan Spurlock did, he changes his diet to include fat-free foods and things that people eat and drink every day which are supposed to be good for us. Instead of overdoing the sweets to increase his sugar content, he simply switches to low-fat foods which have increased sugar contents to make up for what would otherwise be a bland taste.

Watched over by a dietician and monitored by his gp, Gameau not only started to gain weight, but also put a measurable strain on his body, even as he tried to maintain the same exercise regimen.

The experiment in trying to change the diet of a tiny Australian town with Aboriginal residents facing serious sugar-related illnesses is interesting and speaks to what Gameau is trying to point out in the film – that once people are educated about what different foodstuffs do to their bodies they make informed decisions.

While he seeks out the fringe arguments on both sides – for and against the consumption of copious amounts of sugar – Gameau continually posits that it is not necessary to cut out sugar consumption, he merely wants to conscientise people to be educated about what they put into their bodies.

But, then he finds an extreme example like the Kentucky teenager who rots away his teeth drinking Mountain Dew, making anyone who still has Coke left in their cups in the cinema at this point, push the plastic away.

Gameau keeps it all light and fluffy, but the message is quite serious. While he never really delves into the other side which makes it seem a bit one-sided, let’s face it, we all love sugar already, making this kind of documentary all the more difficult to sell. But, he does a sweet job trying.

If you liked Fed Up or Super Size Me, you will like this.

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