Houston was brave to tackle a character with character flaws similar to her own, and Sparkle only adds to her entertainment legacy. Houston's voice took a beating from years of hard living, but she gives a nice performance of hymn "His Eye is on the Sparrow." Houston's work here is certainly good, and it's an unflashy supporting role that anchors the film.
The music adheres to the '60s setting but feels timeless, and Sparks proves particularly adept at tackling the tunes. Kelly and Curtis Mayfield, and its soundtrack features cuts from Sparks, Houston and several modern R&B singers. It can be difficult to tell how much time passes between scenes, but Sparkle moves through several years in the '60s. Some of the drama wades into cable-television territory, but Akil moves from event to event so quickly that viewers have little time to complain. Sister dives headfirst into her terrible marriage, and scuttles Sparkle's chance to sign with Columbia records. Sister is decidedly less naïve, and dumps her nice-guy boyfriend after seeing slick, wealthy Satin. Sister went to New York and failed to make it, so she came back to Detroit to live at home. Sparks does a nice job as sweet, innocent Sparkle, but Ejogo often steals the show. When Emma finds out what her daughters are up to, she harshly chastises Sparkle, telling her she will enjoy watching her fail.
Sparkle moves outside Sister's shadow, but lets fame go to her head. Sister foolishly marries Satin, who promptly abuses her and gets her addicted to hard drugs. Dolores's real passion is medical school, and she keeps one foot out the door. The film is tightly edited and nicely acted, and Akil hits the highlights as the Anderson sisters face a number of conflicts. The perils of stardom and the struggle to make it big have been filmed a hundred times over, but Sparkle is no less entertaining because of its oft-utilized dramatic structure. Houston, who died in February 2012 after filming wrapped, instead plays the world-weary Emma, a character whose struggles mirror Houston's turbulent life. Chase says the timing was perfect for Houston, who was the wrong age to play Sister or Emma in the '90s. The project sat in limbo until 2011, when Jumping the Broom director Akil signed on to steer the project. When Houston and Chase first secured the film rights for this remake in the '90s, Houston was set to play Sister alongside the late R&B singer Aaliyah. Sparkle looks to its predecessor for inspiration, but works to improve on the original, which isn't exactly a critically praised film. Trouble soon arrives in the form of a wily comedian, Satin Struthers (Mike Epps), who closes in on Sister and claims to have powerful record-industry connections.
The girls fear upsetting Emma, who has expressly forbidden them from following her path into the dark temptations of stardom, but decide to go forward with the plan. Stix urges Sparkle to recruit her other sister, Dolores (Tika Sumpter), to join her and Sister on stage as a three-woman group. The girls hurry home to avoid the wrath of their uptight mother Emma (Houston), who found religion after years of singing and substance abuse. Stix praises Sister's powerful voice, and is surprised to learn that Sparkle wrote Sister's material. Sisters Sparkle (Sparks) and Tammy "Sister" Anderson (Ejogo) meet aspiring talent scout Stix (Derek Luke) while moonlighting at a nightclub. Sparkle feels familiar, but Director Salim Akil and his cast breathe new life into the dramatic material. Jordin Sparks and Carmen Ejogo are solid group leaders, and Houston plays a tough, weary matriarch in her final film performance. With Motown music in its veins, Sparkle maintains its old-fashioned sensibilities without becoming tiresome. Based on the 1976 cult favorite written by Joel Schumacher, this remake follows the same basic story of three sisters who form a girl group, but moves the action from the 1950s to the 1960s.
SPARKLE 1976 VS 2012 UPDATE
Whitney Houston and Debra Martin Chase worked for years to bring this modern update of Sparkle to the screen.
SPARKLE 1976 VS 2012 1080P
Click an image to view Blu-ray screenshot with 1080p resolution.
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