TOO MUCH SUGAR
(The 2026 Venice Film Festival runs September 2-12 on the island of the Lido di Venezia (Venice Lido) in Italy. HtN has coverage coming in like M.J. O’Toole’s Too Much Sugar movie review. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
For the majority of his directing career, Robert Greene has been fascinated by performance and its impact on human life. Whether it follows an actress rigorously rehearsing/researching a complex role (Kate Plays Christine), a town reenacting its controversial past (Bisbee ‘17), or survivors of abuse helping stage reenactments of their trauma as a means of healing (Procession), he has blended documentary and narrative seamlessly in a way that would have the viewer reflect on where the line falls between the two mediums. Now, he explores how filmmaking can bring family together through healing with his newest feature, Too Much Sugar. He documents a side of rural American life through the eyes of a charismatic, loving, yet boisterous working-class Missouri man trying to atone for his past and unite his loved ones through a lifelong goal of his. It’s amazing how the former HtN contributor has found his subjects and helped stage these performances throughout his career. He came across his main subject, Ryan “Holli-wood” Hollinger, as a fellow basketball parent being the loudest in the stands at their sons’ game (his annoyance eventually turning to admiration upon meeting him). His decision to capture both the real and fictionalized aspects of Hollinger’s life culminates in this loving ode to family, friendship, and the healing power of moviemaking.
Ryan Hollinger is a larger-than-life type of guy, to say the least. A former boxer living in Moberly, Missouri, he spent part of his life in and out of prison, eventually becoming a hardworking carpenter trying to provide for his family. Said family consists of six children… born to five different women. Regardless of his reckless and philandering past, he loves each of his kids deeply and wants to be a better father to them than his own dad was. Beneath this macho exterior is a rather sensitive, nurturing, and encouraging soul. As a way of bringing his whole family together, he wants to fulfill his dream of making a narrative movie that he wrote himself. And what better person to help him accomplish this than the man holding the camera and documenting his life?
Greene also shines the spotlight on each of Ryan’s six children, his aging mother Candy, and his longtime partner Amanda, who’s had his back through thick and thin, sometimes at her own expense. These kids, ranging in ages 9 – 23, all have their own unique experience being raised by Ryan – some of whom didn’t get to meet him until later in their lives. Some of them have dreams, while some are trying to figure out what path to set out on. One of his sons worries that making this film will only validate Ryan, rather than change him for the better. Each of them states what movie they would make, differing in genre and style but amplifying their shining personalities and how they want to be seen. By exploring each family member’s perspective, Greene gives us a better sense of the Hollinger family’s dynamic while adding layers of empathy that make this journey all the more profound.
As we eventually see in the film, Ryan’s family goes a little bit beyond blood ties. One of the most moving parts comes in the form of his longtime friendship with Michael “AccRite” Midgyett, a fellow carpenter and father – both of whom have had each other’s backs over the years. When it comes to the two being labeled “old,” they rephrase it as “Out Living Dummies.” AccRite is the type of guy you’d want to lean on, but deep down he is grappling with an unfathomable pain. A couple of years back, his 16-year-old son Deqiran was murdered in a mass shooting at a house party that got out of hand. His grief manifests itself in certain moments of rage, with one incident putting his family at risk in an accident. As someone who also spent part of his life in prison, AccRite wants to put an end to the legacy of crime and death in his family. Ryan tries to help his best friend through his grief by nudging him into his filmmaking fold as a form of performance therapy, giving him a platform to process and act out his feelings. When Greene and Ryan (with the help of AccRite’s teenage daughter, Auveon) help him make his own film in which he travels back in time to save his son from that night, it is a heartfelt sequence that will tug at your heartstrings. By giving his subjects such a medium to express themselves, Greene emphasizes the indefatigable spirit of these two fathers to put an end to the generational damage brought on by their own fathers and build paths of hope for both families to heal from their pain.
As Ryan says early on, his grandmother attributed his hyper energy to “too much sugar.” But it’s that very energy that helps bring all his loved ones together in this loving hybrid-doc, which helps them unite, mend fences, and figure out who/where they want to be in life. No matter how flawed Ryan may be, Robert Greene humanizes him beautifully and gives everyone he holds near & dear a story of their own, making this just as much about community as it is about family. He gives everyone a fun time by helping them make their own short films (shot by his longtime DP, Robert Kolodny), especially a super joyful one where Ryan and AccRite play pranks on their own kids. Too Much Sugar is a loving testament to the indomitable working-class spirit and the breaking of cycles by coming together through creativity. Compared to Greene’s earlier documentaries, this one leans grittier. Yet its emotional depth and formal experimentation elevate it to something remarkable. Family may test us, but with love and the right gestures, they become easy to lean on. Greene and Hollinger are one heck of a team, showing that even in pain, there is hope to be found.
– M.J. O’Toole (@mj_otoole93)
