Heaven isn't too far away-Jordin Sparks and Whitney Houston star in the new musical drama Sparkle
Whitney Houston being in Sparkle is kind of like mayo on a cheese steak..it's not the best but it helps keep the flavor going. Houston plays Emma...the mother of three women...Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), Dolores (Tika Sumpter) and Sister (Carmen Ejogo.) Much to their mother's disposition on music...the three decide to start a music group. Their manager soon ends up being Satin (Mike Epps)...a man who is more than meets the eye.
Sparkle is not a bad film. In fact it's kind of enjoyable. I feel that I would have despised this film had it not been for Houston. No...I'm not saying because she died recently. I'm saying that her performance is the only really good performance in this film. It seems as if everyone else is just lazily reading their lines while Houston brings some power to the role. Yes...the fact that Houston died this year makes the movie more emotional than it has any right to be but her performance is something to look out for.
Epps is just dialing down his role from Friday and playing a villain but is essentially acting the same while the three women just blandly drift in and out of the film. The film's music isn't bad...it's just not memorable enough. When you have a film centered around music and the film's most memorable song is Cee Lo Green coming on for about one minute...you have a problem.
With all this being said.....rent Sparkle on DVD when it comes out for Houston's performance. If it were not for her performance....I would say skip the film entirely and stick to the original. I was not bored for a second at the film and enjoyed some of it but I can not say it is anything close to a good film.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for mature thematic content involving domestic abuse and drug material and for some violence, language and smoking)
I was on the fence about seeing ‘Sparkle.’ After reading your review and talking to one of my co-workers from Dish about this film, I will wait for this movie on DVD. I’m sure it is emotional knowing that Whitney is no longer with us, and with a strong performance would make it more difficult to watch. I added this movie to my Blockbuster @home DVD list. As soon as it is released I will get this in the mail quickly, and will make a movie night with my girlfriends. I think it would be hard to match the music from ‘Dreamgirls,’ but I will probably end up getting the ‘Sparkle’ soundtrack as well.
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