The Sticky review: The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist gets a darkly funny adaptation

From 2011 to 2012, thieves stole $18 million worth of maple syrup from the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. Among the most valuable heists in Canadian history (and arguably the most Canadian heist ever), the robbery earned the title of the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist.

Now, the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist gets its own TV adaptation with Prime Video’s The Sticky. Created by American Housewife team Brian Donovan and Ed Herro, The Sticky stars Margo Martindale, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Guillaume Cyr as an unlikely trio of maple syrup hustlers. The three have incredible chemistry — but in the end, is it enough to counteract The Sticky‘s long, winding road to the notorious heist that spawned it?

What is The Sticky about?

The Sticky may draw inspiration from true events, yet as a title card reminds us at the beginning of each episode, what we’re seeing is “absolutely not” the true story. Yes, people will work to steal maple syrup from a governing syrup body in Quebec, but that’s basically where the similarities begin and end. Notably, every member of The Sticky‘s aspiring heist crew is fictional.

Every member of the heist crew is also down on their luck, and growing more desperate day by day. There’s syrup farmer Ruth Landry (Martindale), whose husband Martin lies in a years-long coma, and whose farming land is on the verge of being seized by the corrupt association that governs the local maple syrup supply. Security guard Remy Bouchard (Cyr) is the organization’s sole security guard. Overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated by boss Leonard Gauthier (Guy Nadon), Remy takes revenge where he can — by stealing one barrel of syrup a month from the stockpile. Rounding out the team is Bostonian mobster Mike Byrne (Chris Diamantopoulos), who’s looking to pull off a job unaffiliated with the U.S. crime family that hounds him.

Pushed together by circumstance, these three decide to take down those who have wronged them by executing the sweetest heist known to mankind. But of course, as we’ve come to expect from any heist story, things rarely go according to plan, and Ruth, Remy, and Mike are in for a hell of a lot of sticky situations.

Margo Martindale, Guillaume Cyr, and Chris Diamantopoulos are a delightful heist crew.

You may be drawn in by the promise of maple syrup mayhem, but the true heart of The Sticky is just watching Martindale, Cyr, and Diamantopoulos become the most dysfunctional heist crew in all of Canada. The three give delightful performances separately, but put them together, and you get dynamite.

Martindale’s Ruth is ferocious as can be, unafraid to storm the association’s offices with a downed tree in tow or curse out Leonard in front of his staff. Cyr’s Remy becomes a perfect foil for her, not just because of his links to the organization but also because of his mild-mannered demeanor, which can sometimes lead to others taking advantage of him. However, that mildness flies out the door in most of his interactions with the hot-tempered Mike, who tries to assert himself as the dominant cool guy in charge of the operation. But despite all that posturing, Mike’s often just as inept as his compatriots. Don’t just take my word for it: Feast your eyes on Diamantopoulos’ many icy pratfalls, which somehow get funnier over time, no matter how often Mike bites it in the Quebec snow.

The lead-up to The Sticky‘s heist gives our trio plenty of time to bond, from planning sessions to car trips to an accomplice’s storage unit. It also gives them plenty of opportunities to cross each other, building tension — and some very fun sap-related arguments — along the way. Yet among all The Sticky‘s many twists and turns, it can sometimes feel like the heist itself has gotten lost in the syrup… er, sauce.

The Sticky‘s heist feels more like an afterthought.

Despite The Sticky‘s lightning-fast first season (six episodes, each less than 30 minutes), the series can sometimes feel like it’s wading through syrup in its efforts to get to the heist proper. Ruth and Remy drop out of the heist at separate points, only to get pulled back in mere moments later. Elsewhere, new wrinkles out of our trio’s control keep pushing the planned heist date back. Some, like the arrival of new security guard Gary (Meegwun Fairbrother), spawn riotous side quests. Others, like the intrusion of Mike’s Bostonian colleagues — including mobster Bo (Jamie Lee Curtis) — feel like The Sticky stalling for time, or clawing for a great antagonist for a potential second season.

Here’s the thing, though: I’m far more interested in the small-town dynamics The Sticky initially sets up than whatever hell Boston has to rain down on Mike. The series briefly explores the solidarity between Ruth and the other syrup farmers and townspeople, including a scene where a diner refuses to give Leonard any syrup with breakfast. But otherwise, it barely fleshes out the rest of them.

By the time The Sticky finally gets to its heist, the season has almost run out of steam, and it shows. Prior iterations of the heist plan play out in snappy, darkly funny sequences of what the crime might look like. Yet that energy dissipates for the real deal, which seems almost grim in comparison to everything that’s come before it.

But while the final destination of The Sticky Season 1 may be underwhelming, at least the characters who brought us there are anything but. Martindale, Cyr, and Diamantopoulos have created a trio of lovable, flawed criminals who are fully-fledged right off the bat, and watching their dynamic evolve over the course of the season is a sweet treat all by itself.

All episodes of The Sticky premiere Dec. 6 on Prime Video.

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