The Sticky

A collection of oddball characters in terrible situations trying to manage a heist of maple syrup to salvage their financial problems. Ruth, whose husband is in a coma, has lost her right to sell maple syrup to the cartel, run by Leonard. It seems her husband owns the rights to harvest the syrup, so she has been fined for using his rights illegally. Remy, sort of a sadsack character is the guard at the warehouse where all the syrup is stored and was sneaking a barrel or two out of the warehouse at night, with a friend who suddenly gets killed. He is the only guard for the entire stock of maple syrup. Since Ruth got into financial trouble the only way forward was stealing on a much larger scale, and she and Remy brought Mike into the scheme. Mike comes off as a power who can get big things done. The truth is quite different. And with all the clashes of personalities and mix ups, it almost becomes a Keystone cops caper. Each time they seem to have things under control, snags happen, and their approach to trying to solve it is a great part of the humor. A cop-out is that is leads to a second season, so there are loose ends galore. And as made very clear, this is not how the actual theft was done. So this is a funny fictional account. And a very interesting cameo appearance.

In rural Quebec, Ruth Landry (Margo Martindale) is struggling to maintain her maple tree farm while her husband is in a coma. The tyrannical association chief Leonard Sr. Is looking steal her property on the cheap. Remy Bouchard (Guillaume Cyr) is the frustrated lone security guard at the association warehouse. Mike Byrne (Chris Diamantopoulos) is a low level bagman with a Boston mob family.

The Fargo is strong in this one. Like that franchise, this could have been a movie or a TV show. It also has the snow, the quirky criminals and small town folks, and even the true/not true story. Homage has been paid. The actors are led by the greatness of Margo Martindale and the slightly unhinged Chris Diamantopoulos. Two things do worry me at the beginning and they do hold it back somewhat. The story is inherently silly and I'm not sure that the Fargo treatment is worthwhile. The other issue is the language barrier. That does take some getting used to. Despite the slow start, the show leaves me wanting more.

Nice and sweet television serie! The whole thing is good entertainment and nothing more. It is based on an actual fact but. Far from the real story that you can google. It is fast pace and short episodes wich makes it even more attractive.

And YES, as a local everybody hates the Maple cartel and does accentuate a real problem with free trade.

I have not more less to write but if I want this review to show , I need to write six hundred caracters minimum. So in my opinion this is a deterrant to many users that will simply NOT write anything substancial. So for my last 28 words, I do recommend you watch this show.

This is a refreshing crime comedy series! Centering the plot around maple syrup is quite ingenious and the decision for 30 minutes per episode works quite well. The scripting holds up for most of the time, sometimes you can hear the keyboards of the authors clicking.

But what makes this series really worth watching is the casting: They are all doing an impressive job, highlights are the leading role Margo Martindale and, as always, the impeccable Jamie Lee Curtis. For those two alone, my recommendation holds up.

However, be prepared for a truly disappointing last episode of season one for the incomprehensible decision to cut the story line right in the middle of the climax.

As Episode 1 of "The Sticky" (2024 release from Canada; 6 episodes of about 30 min each) opens, we are reminded that "This is absolutely not the true story of the Great Maple Syrup Heist", which took place in 2011. In the opening scenes, the local Quebec police is called to quell a disturbance, only to find the body of a man in a maple barrel, murdered for reasons unknown. We then are introduced to Ruth, who tends to her maple tree farm but as it turns out she doesn't have the proper license for this, and she may lose the farm... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: This is a dark comedy series from Canada, more specifically from Quebec, where maple syrup is big business. I have no idea to what extent this mini-series accurately reflects what happened in the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist of 2011, but frankly it's not even relevant. The reason is that this mini-series is absolutely hilarious and fun from start to finish. I laughed out loud quite a few times throughout these 6 episodes as this mini-series is quirky, dry, and even absurd at times (in the best possible way). The no-star ensemble cast is stellar. Comedy, good comedy, is incredibly difficult to do, but this mini-series delivers.

"The Sticky" started streaming on Amazin Prime last month, and I just discovered it. I watched all 6 episodes in a single setting. THis mini-series is currently rated 82% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. If you are in the mood for a quirky dark comedy starring our neighbors of the north, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.