At first of every episode of the brand new Prime Video collection The Sticky, a textual content seems on display screen, proclaiming that “That is completely not the true story of the nice Canadian maple syrup heist.” Presumably, many of the viewers won’t know what the hell that assertion is even about. A heist involving stealing maple syrup sounds extra just like the plot of a madcap Coen Brothers’ comedy than one thing you’d hear about on the information.

That aforementioned disclaimer appears very effectively conscious of that truth, and that’s a part of the explanation why The Sticky works in addition to it does. The collection takes the final idea of a real-world occasion and fully reinvents it, creating a narrative about grief, homicide, the mafia, and, after all, maple syrup — plus it has esteemed character actress Margo Martindale within the main position, and that’s all the time a bonus.

What Is ‘The Sticky’ About?

Moderately than specializing in real-life occasions, The Sticky as an alternative chooses to revolve round three misfit underdogs who couldn’t be extra totally different from each other. Ruth Landy (Martindale) is a maple syrup farmer who has been standing agency on not promoting her property to the corrupt chief bureaucrat Léonard Gauthier (Man Nadon) after her husband falls right into a coma. Remy Bouchard (Guillaume Cyr) is an introverted safety guard at Quebec’s Maple Syrup Reserve and nonetheless lives at residence together with his loving father (Michel Perron). After which there’s Mike Byrne (Chris Diamantopoulos), a mobster from Boston who has lengthy been regarded down upon by his compatriots.

Ruth, Remy, and Mike have all been coping with their very own monetary woes, however their lives come crashing collectively when Remy spots Mike eating out at a elaborate restaurant and makes him an thrilling proposition: to rob the Maple Syrup Reserve. Mike is quickly capable of rope Ruth into the plot, and with hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on the road, the three crew as much as try to drag off the sweetest heist in Canadian historical past. When a collection of deadly missteps result in a lifeless physique, Detective Valérie Nadeau (Suzanne Clément) and police officer Teddy Inexperienced (Gita Miller) try to trace down the crew of would-be-criminals earlier than it’s too late.

Prime Video’s ‘The Sticky’ Completely Blends a Gritty Crime Story With Darkish Comedy

The Sticky is a collection that seems like it is very a lot within the vein of Fargo. Not solely does it have that distinct small-town setting, however creators Brian Donovan & Ed Herro and administrators Michael Dowse & Joyce Wong can strike the proper tone, juggling between a gritty crime story and the darkest of darkish comedies. It’s the type of present that relishes having each exaggerated characters and people who are far more grounded.

Martindale is all the time a pleasure to observe in each single movie and tv collection she seems in, whether or not her Emmy-winning position in The People or her scene-stealing efficiency as an exaggerated model of herself on Bojack Horseman. In The Sticky, Martindale lastly earns her long-deserved main position, and she or he greater than delivers. Martindale portrays Ruth because the type of no-nonsense girl who different characters typically underestimate. But, regardless of the buffoonery of these round her, Martindale brings a lot depth to her position. Ruth’s grief and denial over her husband’s debilitating situation are dealt with delicately, as Martindale ensures that we all know what introduced Ruth so far.

Cyr is one other main standout within the solid as Remy, a personality who begins the collection as a way more quiet and reserved man who continues to be coddled a bit of an excessive amount of by his father, however his arc proves to be one of many present’s most compelling. Cyr makes Remy extremely simple to root for, however he’s additionally fully unpredictable, and the collection does an excellent job of throwing viewers off-guard. In distinction to that’s Diamantopoulos’ position as Mike. Whereas his character is way extra looney than Ruth and Remy, The Sticky nonetheless offers him sufficient dimensions that assist him pair properly together with his co-stars. Jamie Lee Curtis even has a memorable and hysterical look as a personality who not solely brings the laughs but additionally proves to be menacing. Each single certainly one of these characters suits into the plot completely, and it’s largely due to the collection’ good tonal steadiness. Very similar to Fargo, The Sticky is generally capable of make the outlandish really feel plausible, even when it deviates closely from precise real-life occasions.

‘The Sticky’ Rushes By means of Its Conclusion

The Sticky is a reasonably quick collection, with this supposed first season consisting of six 30-minute episodes. It’s, after all, a greater than welcome prevalence to have a present that’s such a fast and simple binge, however The Sticky leaves loads of storylines unresolved, hinting at a possible second season. This feels unusual, as most of those conflicts might have simply been solved in only one or two further episodes.

Whereas The Sticky by no means wastes a lot time with regards to its premise, it additionally bears extra of a resemblance to a restricted collection. If the plan is to ship a long-running story, there’s actually not far more that the central premise has to supply. The finale ends with an extremely abrupt conclusion, and nothing actually feels finite. It’s the type of cliffhanger that you’d anticipate to occur within the penultimate episode of a season of tv, relatively than the finale.

Loads of different streaming collection have equally tried to meld collectively crime and comedy, and with out the amusing idea of stealing maple syrup, The Sticky would probably really feel a bit of too acquainted to some viewers. But the whole mastery of tone makes this collection stand out from the remainder of the pack. The story is rarely overly sophisticated, the pacing is fast, and you’ll’t assist however root for a lot of of those characters. The Sticky additionally has much less cynical power in comparison with different exhibits of this style, however by no means to the purpose the place it is enjoying issues too secure. Perhaps it’s that Canadian hospitality, however this present serves as the right binge-watch for this vacation season.

The Sticky premieres December 6 on Prime Video.

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