Based on the best-selling book, Syrup is an edgy comedy that exposes the cut-throat world of advertising through the eyes of a young prodigy chasing fame, fortune, and the woman of his dreams. Fresh out of school with a degree in marketing, Scat will do anything to prove that he has what it takes to swim with the rich and wildly successful.
Scat comes up with a brilliant new product that gives new meaning to the old saying “sex sells.” He is sure it will send him right to the top…if only he can convince his boss, the beautiful and mysterious “6,” that it’s an idea worth millions. Betrayed by his best friend “Sneaky Pete,” Scat stumbles through an industry riddled with deception.
As he begins to realize that fame and fortune have cost him his morality, he must rediscover his true self behind the elaborate image he has created or risk losing the love of his life. In a world where the average person sees over eight hundred ads in a single day, SYRUP takes a biting look at the insidious—and often ridiculous—side of advertising. Crackling with romance and humor, this razor-sharp satire leaves you guessing and laughing until the end.
Syrup is an American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Max Barry. Its Video on Demand release date is May 1, 2013, and its US theater release date is June 7, 2013.
About the Story
A young marketing executive named Scat thinks of a new idea for a drink after he drops his drink and swears, hence coming up with a new drink called ‘Fukk’. He goes to a drink company where he meets a young woman named ‘6’ who he charms with his idea after getting her out of the building by pulling the fire alarm. She presents his idea to the board and says that Scat will sell his copyright for only two million dollars, making Scat realize he hasn’t reserved the copyright.
After going to reserve it he is told that his roommate ‘Sneaky Pete’ has reserved it, after Scat telling him of his idea. Scat loses the idea to Sneaky Pete and the drink becomes the highest selling energy drink in the nation. Embittered, Scat goes back to his ordinary life but is hired by ‘6’ to help her come up with an ad campaign to beat Sneaky Pete’s and hence win the ‘Fukk’ campaign rights. Told to come up with an idea by Friday (only five days away), Scat moves in with 6 and is unable to think of anything until only moments before the deadline. After shaking a vending machine in frustration and 6 telling him that twelve people have died by being crushed by vending machines, he comes up with the idea of ‘Wouldn’t you die for a Fukk’ advertising a cartoon where people die by being crushed by vending machines because they want the drink so badly.
The ad is accepted and aired but a young teenager dies by being crushed by a vending machine and the ad is now considered insensitive and taken off air. Scat and 6 attend the funeral and when Scat makes a speech, 6 points out that all the mourners are actors that she recognizes from ads. Scat quickly realizes that Sneaky Pete created this fake death to get their ad to fail, and he quickly pulls out the fake body from the coffin and holds it up for all to see. Scat is fired while 6 remains at the company. After driving people around on a bike as his new job, Scat is hired by a rival company and 6 is also poached.
The two must come up with a new drink idea and after talking about their attraction for each other, Scat comes up with the idea of ‘Average KOK’. He presents this as a drink to the board and also thinks of a different drink just called ‘KOK’ that they give to celebrities. The normal ‘KOK’s are numbered up to 100 and each number represents a celebrity and the celebrity deems who can drink their numbered drink.
After the frenzy for the drink that they can’t have, Scat and the company decide to make the drink go public but not before the suicide of a teenager who killed himself after not being ‘cool’ enough to drink his lucky number 17’s corresponding drink. After confirming that this time the death is real, Scat goes on TV to apologize but ends up pointing out that drink sales have never been higher even after the death and that people, like him, ‘have a dream’. Scat walks along watching himself on the TV displays and 6 finds him. Scat tells her his real name is ‘Michael’ and they kiss but 6 insists that 6 is her name and Scat walks away.
Syrup (2013)
Directed by: Aram Rappaport
Starring: Brittany Snow, Shiloh Fernandez, Amber Heard, Kellan Lutz, Rachel Dratch, Katie Blake, Zachary Booth, Michael Chenevert, Sophia Banks, Justine Cotsonas, Lucy DeVito
Screenplay by: Max Barry, Aram Rappaport
Production Design by: Dina Goldman
Cinematography by: Julio Macat
Film Editing by: Robert Hoffman
Costume Design by: Sophia Banks-Coloma
Set Decoration by: Shannon Finnerty
Music by: Peter Bateman, Andrew Holtzman
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual references and brief drug use.
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Release Date: June 7, 2013
Visits: 212
