Steve Balderson's movie, "Sex, Lies, and Sugar" focuses on a group of 1960's era suburban housewives. Close-knit and neighborly, they are all bent on one-upping each other, trying to prove that each is "the hostess with the mostess." They begin a recipe club, holding dinner parties, testing out their new casseroles. But when the gatherings become increasingly boozy and flirtatious, more than recipes start getting swapped. The story moves from stylized and campy to a drama about irresponsibility, selfishness, and damaged people. "Sex, Lies, and Sugar" is raw and uncompromising, evocative of classics like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the more contemporary "American Beauty."

Action • 2011 • 1h 34m4.6