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It's Not So Easy to Replicate the Coen Brothers, Is It 'The Sticky'?

By Dustin Rowles | TV | December 11, 2024 |

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Header Image Source: Prime Video

The best part of the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist is the concept itself. The mere mention of it conjures a Coen Brothers-style caper starring the likes of Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Tim Blake Nelson, and Paul Walter Hauser. In the Netflix documentary series Dirty Money, the fifth episode, “The Maple Syrup Heist,” practically sells itself, though the actual story is somewhat underwhelming. The heist wasn’t exactly script-worthy: over several months, a group siphoned syrup from 9,571 barrels, replacing it with water (with the operation ramping up near the end).

The challenge with anything invoking the Coen Brothers is that, while their vibe is easy to imagine, there’s only one Coen Brothers duo. Unless your name is Noah Hawley, replicating their magic onscreen is a tall order, as seen in woeful misfires like Masterminds and Queenpins.

The Sticky suffers from a similar issue — it works better in theory. It has plenty of Coen-esque elements: a cold, snowy Canadian setting; a decapitated head floating in a barrel of syrup; death by pratfall; bumbling thieves; well-meaning but inept cops; the mob; and Margo Martindale, who feels like the quintessential Coen Brothers character actor despite never having worked with them (or on Hawley’s Fargo).

This series is “inspired by” the heist, though even calling it loosely “based on” is generous. Martindale plays Ruth Landry, a maple syrup farmer being pushed out by Leonard Sr. (Guy Nadon), the corrupt head of the maple syrup reserve. Meanwhile, Remy (Guillaume Cyr), a security guard who’s been stealing small amounts of syrup, decides to go big. He enlists Mike (Chris Diamantopoulos), an out-of-towner with criminal expertise. Together, Ruth, Remy, and Mike hatch a plan to steal millions of dollars worth of syrup.

Unfortunately, it takes five episodes to even finalize their plan, as they get bogged down with obstacles: Ruth is arrested, the reserve hires a second security guard, and Mike is pursued by his mob associates. As a result, the series never builds much momentum. With six episodes running just 20-25 minutes each, The Sticky feels like a stretched-out feature film. A 105-minute movie would have served the story better than this 150-minute series.

Despite its best efforts, Sticky struggles to capture the wacky, noirish charm of the Coens. On paper, all the elements are there but the cast doesn’t quite gel, and the characters’ actions lack emotional weight. To make matters worse, after waiting five episodes for the heist, its execution feels underwhelming.

That said, The Sticky isn’t bad or even a waste of time. It’s just that the series, created by Brian Donovan and Ed Herro (American Housewife), doesn’t — and maybe couldn’t — live up to its premise. The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist sparks grand expectations that decent crime fiction alone can’t quite satisfy.