SUGAR DADDY - KELLY McCORMACK INTERVIEW

Sugar Daddy takes you into a world where some may feel desperate. They go where there aren’t many options to explore to make a fast buck.

The new film Sugar Daddy stars Kelly McCormack as Darren, a talented but struggling young singer-songwriter. Desperate for cash, she decides to sign up for a paid dating service to make extra money. Darren discovers this world and throws herself down a dark path. She comes to a realization about her music and herself as a person and as an artist.

Kelly McCormack wrote Sugar Daddy and Wendy Morgan takes the director’s chair. This is Morgan’s feature debut. She made a career in TV and music videos with stars like Janelle Monáe and Alicia Keys. Viewers might know McCormack for her roles in the popular series Letterkenny and Killjoys.

The Female Gaze interviewed Wendy Morgan recently. And she described Sugar Daddy as a film about a certain kind of young woman. That woman is at that very raw point in her life. She knows so strongly what she should be doing that she has trouble doing anything else. “It’s about making art and coming to terms with yourself. It’s also about value, self-esteem, and seeing how Darren navigates in a patriarchal world with no actual father. [And] it’s a love letter to music and mothers in the end.”

Sugar Daddy also features an impressive supporting cast which includes, Colm Feore, Shawn Ashmore and Amanda Brugel.

The film has received three Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021. Those awards include Best Supporting Actor (Feore), Best Editing (Christine Armstrong) and Best Original Song (Marie-Hélène L. Delorme for “Timid Joyous Atrocious”)

I spoke with writer/star Kelly McCormack about the film and why she decided to explore this world.