Sparkle

There's an indisputable star of this synthetically watchable 2012 melodrama, and it's neither the late Whitney Houston in her last role nor Season 6 "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks. It's relatively unknown British actress Carmen Ejogo (Maya Rudolph's sister in "Away We Go") who explodes off the screen in the meaty, scene-stealing role of Sister, the hell-raising eldest of a trio of daughters to Emma Anderson, an uptight, church-going woman who raised them on her own. Emma is Houston's supporting role, and while she proves she had the makings of a solid character actress, there is an unfortunate shroud of irony in her presence given her own tragic, tabloid-saturated life was itself a cautionary tale about the lure of drugs in show business. This time in the part Lonette McKee played superbly in the 1976 original, Ejogo inhabits the character living out the nightmare of drug addiction and spousal abuse.

The rest of the movie is mostly by the numbers. It opens in 1968, a decade later than the original movie's story, with Sister and her little sister Sparkle sneaking out to a nightclub headlined by a period- costumed Cee Lo Green in a cameo appearance. Sister vamps her way through an original song by Sparkle, which attracts the attention of an aspiring record producer named Stix. He encourages them to shoot for the big time, so they convince level-headed sister Dee to make it a trio decked out sequins, wigs and false eyelashes in order to become the next Supremes. What struck me is how eerily the three women look like the original Supremes line-up with Sparks resembling Florence Ballard and Ejogo looking like a sultry cross between Diana Ross and Beyoncé. Of course, their newfound success comes with heartache, as Sister takes up with a smooth albeit vicious stand-up comic named Satin, and Sparkle struggles between family devotion and her burgeoning love for Stix.

Naturally Emma is constantly worried that her girls will repeat the same mistakes she made when she tried to make it as a singer only to be spit out by the music industry. That means Houston spends most of her limited screen time either fretting about her family or being self-righteous about her religious convictions. The dinner table scene between her and Ejogo is the movie's best scene laying bare the deep-seeded resentment Sister has for her mother and providing a flash of grief over a line that reminds you how Houston died. The melodrama is laid on pretty thick, especially during Sister's downward spiral, but director Salim Akil ("Jumping the Broom") and his wife, screenwriter Mara Brock Akil, balance it with just enough lighter moments. The songs, of course, are what matters the most, and smartly, Curtis Mayfield's original compositions have been retained with the standouts being "Hooked on Your Love", "Look into Your Heart" and especially "Something He Can Feel" which Ejogo performs with sultry conviction.

The new songs by R. Kelly are not nearly as memorable since they sound too contemporary for the period. Sadly, Houston sings only once in character, the spiritual stand-by, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow", and limited to her lower register, her coarsened voice, while emotionally impactful, is vocally a mere shadow of her once-beautiful pipes. Sparks gets to sing a lot more with a predictably booming voice, and she delivers an unaffected turn in the title role. Mike Epps gives a strong performance as Satin, and his scenes with Ejogo echo similarly volatile scenes in "What's Love Got to Do with It?" As Stix, Derek Luke does much better work than Philip-Michael Thomas in the original. Tika Sumpter provides some memorably defiant moments as Dee, the one sister who could take or leave the music. The movie runs too long at 116 minutes, but between Houston's death and Ejogo's star-making turn, it takes on a greater depth than the musical nostalgic trip it was originally designed to be.

The year's most tedious musical, the new Sparkle, has hit the late summer screens with a whimper, and that includes all the respect I can give to producer and supporting actress Whitney Houston. But the late star should have known that the old star is born motif needs more than clichés, and I wish she hadn't awarded herself the most thankless role in the movie.

American Idol's Jordin Sparks plays Sparkle, the most demure of three singing sisters in the early sixties but potentially the most talented of them all through her writing. Suffice it to say the languid 116 minutes contain the usual ups and downs associated with singing groups on film with the obvious purpose to crown one as a star. Houston's role of the overprotective mother may be slightly more rewarding than Derek Luke's as the loving, sometimes manipulative and self-centered manager. Wait, wait, I have another more unsympathetically clichéd character: Satin, the black TV comedian, played smarmy and brutal as is convention by Mike Epps. Satin scoops up the flashiest, sexiest of the sisters only to make everyone sorry he did. No surprises.

Throughout this mediocre musical retreading, too few musical numbers occur, and when they do, they too loosely fit the storyline of the emerging trio and infrequently give the audience superior music. I love screen musicals like Chicago and even Step Up, but Sparkle for a new age is too old a vibe.

Sparkle (2012)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Remake of the 1976 film about sisters Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), Sister (Carmen Ejogo) and Dolores (Tika Sumpter) who decide to try and make it in the music business even though their mother (Whitney Houston) objects to them doing so after her life was ruined by an attempt. The original movie was quite predictable but it was still very much worth watching because of the performances and the music. I'm really not sure why we needed a remake and especially since this one here takes place in the 1960s just like the previous ones. Either way, for the most part this is a mildly entertaining film but there's still no question that it falls short of the original. There are actually quite a few things that do work here including the performances but especially Ejogo as the troubled sister whose decisions are going to cost her and her sisters. I thought she was incredibly believable throughout the picture no matter what the story was calling for. It could be for sexiness in the music or the downfall of the drug addiction. This here was actually the first time I had seen Sparks in anything and I thought she was fine in the role, although, like the original, her character is pretty much in the background. As for Houston, she's not too bad in the film but I must admit that I think her death somewhat hurt the movie, which is strange to say because I doubt anyone would have gone to this had it not been her final film. Hearing her character talk about drug abuse, bad choices and other things just makes you think of Houston and her death. This really has a negative impact on the film that it might not have had if the actress didn't die during the post-production. Derek Luke, Mike Epps and Curtis Armstrong are all extremely good in their parts. Another negative thing is that the majority of the music is pretty forgettable with none of the songs really jumping out at you. This includes Houston's one number, which is just pretty weak. Still, SPARKLE manages to have enough in it to make it worth sitting through even if the end result isn't nearly as good as most would have hoped for.

Sparkle is a low rent version of Dreamgirls so to speak a remake of an unremarkable film form the 70s is a bad film make no mistake about it. The direction is very amateur, the cinematography is crap and the performances are mostly questionable but the film has its charms as well as it's good moments. And although the film is way melodramatic and unintentionally funny at parts it still manages to be entertaining and consistently engaging. The film centers on a trio of sisters in a band called well "Sisters" lol. The plotting movers along expectedly as they have a minor rise to fame while dealing with their overprotective mother, love, drugs, sex and domestic abuse. But the film also delves a little deeper into the intricate relationships between them due most to the solid performance from Carmen Ejogo as Sister she's sultry and seemingly self centered but underneath that she's extremely protective of her sisters she basically raised as her mother had problems. Because of that her position in the group and her family is a difficult, multi layered one and the best exploration is done there. Everything else feels a little forced and flimsy. I don't wanna be to hard on the film because for the most part I enjoyed it and maybe thats because I enjoy lifetime movies. It has it's good moments and it's bad and the best I can say about Whitney Houston's involvement in the film is that she was a very talented woman earlier on in her career and I hope she's at peace now. Although a mixed bag there is enough here to merit a recommendation if this type of melodramatic, musical period piece appeals to you. I'd also like to say that even though the film is set in the past it never feels that way. The consistency is off as well as the logic and it feels very modern with some retro costumes. The film doesn't much sparkle as have a dull shine. 3/5

I get skeptic on watching movies that revolve around singing groups in the 50s-80s because I feel like they are all the same. However, I absolutely enjoyed and would love to see this movie again. Let me just say Carmen Ejogo is an absolutely AMAZING actress. She practically had me in tears throughout the whole movie because she betrayed her character so well! Im not familiar with Carmens work but she sold it. Shes stunningly beautiful, and I cant wait to see her in other upcoming films. Jordan Sparks off course is an amazing singer, and for being her first film she did a good job. I think with time shell be better actress. I think this movie was a great last goodbye for Whitney Houston. Im glad I was able to hear her sing one last time. (: This is definitely a must see, and I will for surely be recommending this movie to everyone I see.