“Sugar” follows two Quebec influencers, who board a luxurious cruise but later fall into the trap of a drug deal. Melanie and Chloe meet at a club and instantly become friends. At the same club, Chloe’s kind of boyfriend offers for her to join him on an international cruise for a deal. She refuses at first but later agrees and brings Melanie with her. Melanie is unaware of the deal and thinks of the cruise as an exciting trip. “Sugar” is a fictional drama that is based on the true story of the Cocaine Cowgirls.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Sugar’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
The movie starts off in Montreal, where a naive Melanie is waiting in line for entry to a club, and she watches a confident young girl named Chloe enter the club. Chloe is charming and witty, and Melanie is enchanted by her at their first encounter. Desperate to enter the club, Melanie finds her way through a back door after the entry is closed. Jules, a dealer, spots Melanie in the club and accompanies her; later, the two are joined by Chloe. Jules makes Chloe an offer to join him on an international cruise. At the club, Chloe has an encounter with an unfriendly face and tries to escape; Melanie helps her out. They both spend the night having fun around the city, and they bond really well. They both connect over Instagram, and Melanie is drooling over Chloe’s account. She is influenced by Chloe’s lifestyle and wants to have similar experiences. She has never been out of her hometown, whereas Chloe leads an influential lifestyle, hanging out with socialites. She does seem to have a perfect life, but does she? Who was the man who was chasing Chloe at the club? In a later scene, the same man is at Chloe’s house; she tries to escape but gets caught, and he threatens her, demanding that she return his money. She tries reaching out for help but doesn’t get any. Without any choice, she is left to agree to the trip to make some money.
She invites Melanie on the trip, and an excited Melanie agrees to it in hopes of having a fun, luxurious, paid trip. She isn’t aware of anything, and by the time she is, it will be too late. She is just a simple girl who wants to explore, but it might cost her everything. The two meet, and Chloe explains the situation to Melanie at work; she asks her to entertain the guests and enjoy the vacation.
The two board the cruise, and Chloe befriends a crew member, Emma, and amusingly arranges a suit; she has a natural charm about herself. Chloe teaches Melanie how to lead an influential lifestyle by clicking pictures at the most exotic spots and creating a story everyone wants to believe in. As the two spend more time on the cruise, their bond grows, and we get a window into Chloe’s past. Chloe had been dragging herself into huge debts, and her parents would bail her out until they didn’t, but now the two have an estranged relationship. She plans to quit after this trip and continue with her education. Melanie has a close relationship with her father, but she lied to him about the trip.
The cruise reaches New York, where they meet Jules and two more people, Sean and Carl. Carl and Chloe dance while Melanie gives Sean some company. Melanie is attracted to Sean, and the two have a good time together. As Carl tries to get closer to Chloe on the dance floor, jealous Jules pulls her away. Jules introduces Chloe to a senior, probably a drug lord, who warns her about the trip. He tells her that girls as bright as her don’t last and eventually lose their way. Chloe stares him down, and we see a strong side of her; she isn’t afraid, but even she has no idea about the real deal. A drunk Melanie passes out in her room, and Chloe takes care of her; she has a soft corner for Melanie. Later, Jules comes to their room, and Chloe hands him some diamond jewelry. Despite several warnings from Chloe, Melanie develops a romantic relationship with Sean. Sean surprisingly has a lot of interest in Melanie’s encounter with Chloe; he learns that they have only met once before. Sean seems like a good guy, but he sometimes seems too good to be true, as if he is hiding something. Later that night, Chloe is on her way to Jules’s room and finds Carl leaving; she doesn’t trust him and tries to warn Jules as well before they get intimate. The two share a sexual relationship, and he might be her sugar daddy.
The Luxurious Cruise Trip Starts To Sink Into A Nightmare
The cruise reaches their next destination in Panama; Sean accompanies Melanie and Chloe, and they hang out together in the city. They are wandering around the city when Sean receives a suspicious call and leaves them. Melanie decides to follow him out of curiosity but ends up in deep trouble when Sean’s car takes an uneventful turn, and they all arrive at an isolated location. They are surrounded by armed men, and Sean pleads with the leader, who confuses him with Carl. On the other hand, Carl is missing. They are in the middle of a gangster interrogation when a shooting takes place, and they escape through the woods. When Melanie learns the truth about the trip, she is hurt and disappointed. She realizes how fake the whole trip is, but it’s too late for her to return. Chloe learns that Carl has run away with the diamonds. Sean and Chloe try to convince Melanie to play along with them. With the diamonds gone, they are all in deep trouble. Chloe reaches out to Jules, who tells her that he is handling the situation by himself, but does he have an actual solution? Or will he use Chloe and Melanie as a scapegoat?
Sean and Jules plant kilos of cocaine in Melanie and Chloe’s room; they hide it in the ceiling of their room, but Chloe finds it. Chloe and Mellisa work together to get rid of the drugs; Melanie plants them back in Jules’s room while Chloe distracts him. Chloe and Melanie also realize that their passports are missing. The two of them escape the boat with the help of Emma and discover a different way to use the boat. Sean finds out through an Instagram post that the girls are in the city; later, Jules and Sean catch the girls in the city. Jules puts Melanie at gunpoint to interrogate Chloe about the location of the drugs. She loses her faith in him.
Chloe feels hopeless as she knows that she has gotten herself into some real trouble. She gets drunk and kisses the DJ to make Jules feel jealous; he aggressively pulls her away, and the two indulge in a fight. Melanie is worried for Chloe as she is using drugs and isn’t in her senses. Jules catches Chloe and takes only Melanie along with him for the deal. Melanie tries to protest but can’t help herself in the situation.
Melanie is surrounded by the group while Jules and Sean keep an eye on her. A miserable Chloe is at the bar when she finds out on the news that Carl is dead. Chloe immediately texts Melanie and asks her to run away. Melanie tries to escape, but Sean follows her and eventually catches her. She is scared that Sean will kill her and begs him to spare her life. Instead of harming her, Sean puts his gun down and gives Melanie her passport and some money. He warns her that the whole situation is bigger than it seems, and he himself is running away. The two fake Melanie’s death so that Jules will never try to find her. Sean deeply cares about Melanie, and maybe he is in love with her. After realizing Melanie is dead, Chloe breaks down and decides to throw away the drugs, but then Melanie surprises her, and Chloe is relieved. The two decide to continue with the plan if they want to be free again. They hide the drugs in their suitcase.
‘Sugar’ Ending Explained – How Did Melanie And Chloe Get Caught?
The cruise arrives at its last stop in Sydney, where the two girls escape the authorities through the previously discovered passage. They try to blend in with the crew members and plan their escape, but they find authorities checking the crew members’ baggage and ID. Chloe spots the DJ from the party and asks him for a lift. The two put on smiling faces and pretended to avoid the passage because of the crowd. Their car is stopped by a guard, but they have a lucky escape. The girls make it to their hotel without getting caught and realize they are finally free. They are about to celebrate their freedom when the police barge in and arrest them. They lie on the floor in tears while the police find the drugs hidden in their bags. The two girls are held for interrogation when a lawyer barges in and hints at them for a guilty plea; Chloe realizes that the lawyer is Jules’s man; she asks the lawyer to leave, but he warns her of even worse outcomes than being in jail for some years. The two girls never revealed any names to the authorities. Melanie receives an unexpected phone call in prison, where a guilty Sean apologizes to her and explains to her that this was a plan to catch drug traffickers. He himself was caught a year before and had to play along in the plan to save himself. The movie ends with Chloe calling her Mom from jail despite having a troublesome relationship with her and Melanie’s father visiting her in jail. Melanie doesn’t expect her father to understand her actions, but she tells him that she doesn’t know the truth and that by the time she realizes what is actually going on, it is too late. She finally found herself on that cruise and realized who she truly was. Her father understands her and truly accepts her.
The Real Story Of The Cocaine Cowgirls
The fictional story of Sugar is inspired by the well-known story of the Cocaine Cowgirls. In 2016, two Instagram influencers, Melina Roberge and Isabelle Lagacé were caught in Australia for smuggling drugs worth 21 million dollars. Both of them were released in 2021 and returned to Canada. The film doesn’t follow the same trail to the same ending, but both of them are caught by the customs authorities when the dogs sniff their suitcases filled with drugs. Both of them refused to provide any information about other people who were involved. The two of them had agreed to the trip to pay off some serious debts. The two of them had been recruited by a sugar daddy, and Roberge was also involved in an intimate relationship with the man who paid her. She was lured into the deal to have a luxurious trip and increase her reach on Instagram. She was also working as an escort for her sugar daddy. Isabella had previously worked as an adult film star. The two of them pleaded guilty after getting caught, and Melina was served a longer sentence as she protested her innocence in court. They were sentenced to seven years. The drug bust is claimed to be the biggest one in Australian history.
“Sugar” is a 2022 crime drama film directed by Vic Sarin.
