‘The Sticky’ (2024) Prime Video Series Review - Stealing Maple Syrup

The Sticky, created by Brian Donovan and Ed Herro, opens with the text, "This is absolutely not the true story of the great Canadian maple syrup heist." Texts like these have become a cliché. They are often seen in productions that desperately want to present themselves as "funny" or "eccentric." Hence, I would advise you to take this opening text as a confession from the creators that they have nothing fresh to offer to the audience. The Sticky, indeed, is as stale as other junk that arrives every day or week on various streaming platforms. Shows like these easily pass your time, but once they end, you forget about their existence. The Sticky manages to generate an amusing mood of dark comedy; however, it does nothing exciting with its tone, its characters, and its scenes. Every single detail, every single development feels pre-planned; The story unfolds without much spontaneity.

The "story" here, however, is nothing more than an excuse to create many comically shocking complications for the people on the screen. Ruth (Margo Martindale), a maple syrup farmer, plans a heist with Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a security guard, and Mike (Chris Diamantopoulos), a mobster. What are they stealing? $150 million worth of maple syrup. Ruth is angry at the chief bureaucrat Leonard (Guy Nadon) as he wants to steal her land, her farm. Actually, everybody hates Leonard. Remy, too, because, even after working for many years as a security guard, he isn't given a promotion. As for Mike, well, he wants moolah. You can see dollar signs in his eyes when he learns about the maple syrup plan. Mike has a habit of shooting himself in the foot. He also brings harm to his team members, especially the security guard. Mike kills Remy's best friend, plants evidence against Remy, and later sets up someone else for a fall. His motivation? He is selfish, of course. However, his actions stick out as something that merely whips up more troubles for the characters so that the story doesn't become monotonous. It all appears unconvincing and artificial.

This lack of conviction can also be found in Ruth's passionate requests to keep her husband, who is in a coma, in the house with her. The husband and wife are never seen sharing a romantic or meaningful moment together. Ruth never sits beside her husband to talk to him about intimate details, her daily routine, or the time they spent with each other when he was not a patient. The man is simply in the house so that Leonard can make that phone call later, further pushing Ruth towards the predetermined path - the heist has to happen. When one character agrees to the plan, the other character backs out. When that other character comes on board again, the first character says no to the plan. This yes-no motion produces mild amusement but not much suspense. The only hilarious scene in the show involves the struggle to open a storage unit door. Nothing else comes even close to this particular moment. There is some pleasure, though, in watching Ruth convert the aim to commit a crime into a rousing speech that motivates Remy, who looks reluctant.

It's possible for two people working in a professional setting to not get romantically involved with each other. There is no reason for love to blossom between police officers Teddy Green (Gita Miller) and Valérie Nadeau (Suzanne Clément). Still, we see them affectionately holding hands in one of the episodes because The Sticky has no room for originality or inventiveness. It doesn't even try to distinguish itself from other mediocre projects. Jamie Lee Curtis eventually makes an appearance and gets to pull off a Michael Myers-type stunt. It sounds interesting, given she appeared in the Halloween films, but the action doesn't make much sense. One can feel that the creators somehow want to stretch this material for another season. Does this series really need a second season? Filmmakers used to wrap up stories like these within 90 or so minutes. Nowadays, incomplete, half-baked stories have become more and more common. The canvas, with the possibility of multiple seasons, has become large, but it's filled with ideas both shallow and insignificant.

Final Score- [4.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: All 6 episodes are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: December 6, 2024, on Prime Video