Film

That Sugar Film

Name: That Sugar Film
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2014
Cast: Damon Gameau, Stephen Fry, Brenton Thwaites, Isabel Lucas, Jessica Marais

Damon Gameau eats 40 teaspoons of sugar daily through "healthy" foods and documents what happens to his body. It's part personal experiment, part investigative journalism, funny and accessible without being preachy. For anyone who suspects their diet is quietly sabotaging them but hasn't wanted to hear it spelled out.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a documentary that turns a personal experiment into a comic investigation, happy to be entertained while being nudged toward uncomfortable facts about your own grocery trolley.

Skip it if the approach is breezy and personal rather than rigorous, so if you want a sober, data-heavy survey of nutrition science, it may feel too cheerful for the subject.

What it asks of you: It runs about ninety-seven minutes with a light, jokey surface, but it asks you to track the diet diary and bodily changes closely rather than skim the punchlines.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Super Size Me2004

Morgan Spurlock eats only McDonald's for 30 days with similar structure and spirit: one body, one clear premise, real physical consequences. If you liked Gameau's approach, this is the template that started it all.

But It feels dated now, and the shock value has worn thin. Also, Spurlock himself became controversial, which colours the film retrospectively.

The Game Changers2019

Another athlete-led doc that challenges conventional wisdom about diet and performance. Slick, visually inventive, and asks the same underlying question: what are we actually putting in our bodies?

But It has a specific agenda about plant-based eating that some viewers find preachy. The science is also debated by actual nutritionists.

Fed Up2014

A broader investigation into American sugar consumption and industry manipulation, with interviews and data rather than personal experiment. Complementary to Gameau's approach—it explains the system he's experiencing.

But It's angrier and less playful than That Sugar Film. Some scenes feel like a TED talk stretched to feature length.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from That Sugar Film

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Taxidermia2006

Where That Sugar Film documents addiction and complicity through rational investigation, Taxidermia explores the same psychology through surreal nightmare. Both argue that we're unconscious participants in our own consumption.

Hungarian art film told across three generations, each obsessed with consumption and the body. Disturbing, visually stunning, and darkly comic—food as a gateway to understanding desire and mortality.

But It's grotesque, sometimes unwatchable, and has very little plot. If you want information or uplift, this offers neither. It's pure provocation.

Forks Over Knives2011

Documentary about plant-based diets with the same grassroots energy and personal testimony. If the diet stuff grabbed you, this explores an alternative direction with genuine conviction.

But It can feel like advocacy dressed as science. The editing sometimes obscures where evidence ends and argument begins.

The Magic Pill2017

Netflix explores ketogenic and low-carb diets through personal stories and clinical evidence. Similar structure—follow people's physical journeys—but wider scope than sugar alone.

But It oversells some claims and hasn't aged well. Also, keto evangelism grates on some people immediately.

Food, Inc.2008

Broader food system investigation that examines where our food actually comes from. Pairs naturally with That Sugar Film as part of understanding what's in supermarket shelves.

But It's less personal and more abstract. Some interviews feel staged, and it can feel like a checklist of food industry sins.

Rotten2018

Netflix anthology series investigating fraud and exploitation in specific foods. Each episode has That Sugar Film's investigative spirit but focused on different corruption angles.

But Quality varies wildly between episodes. Some feel incomplete or lean too hard on melodrama.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret2014

Released the same year, it shares Gameau's documentary energy but tackles environmental impact of diet instead of personal health. One man on a mission, guided tour of a system.

But The environmental claims are contested. It's also quite polemical, which some find refreshing and others find didactic.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret poster

The Botany of Desire2009

Beautiful, essayistic approach to how plants shape human desire. Slower and more philosophical than That Sugar Film, but asks similar questions about our relationship to what we consume.

But It's contemplative to the point of being remote. If you want urgency and revelation, this won't deliver it.

Shogun Assassin1980

Both films share a structural obsession: one idea pursued to its logical end, supported by immaculate filmmaking. Gameau stays with sugar; Shogun Assassin stays with loyalty and bloodshed. The similarity is in their refusal to look away or dilute the premise.

Stylised samurai action film that rewired how violence and story could work in cinema. If you loved That Sugar Film's craft and pacing—the way it makes a single idea compelling for 97 minutes—this shows what happens when that focus is applied to a completely different register.

But It's violent, operatic, sometimes laughable. You're watching a samurai revenge fantasy, not a lecture. If you want information or contemporary relevance, you won't find it.