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Sparkle
Musical prodigy, Sparkle struggles to become a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. From an affluent Detroit area and daughter to a single mother, she tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix while dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will bring as she and her two sisters strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era.
Release : | 2012 |
Rating : | 5.7 |
Studio : | TriStar Pictures, Phoenix Pictures, Stage 6 Films, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Jordin Sparks Whitney Houston Derek Luke Mike Epps Carmen Ejogo |
Genre : | Drama Music Romance |
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Reviews
Why so much hype?
Thanks for the memories!
Such a frustrating disappointment
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
The main problem with this movie is that there weren't any great songs. All the songs were just so-so, nothing stood out. If your movie is about someone making it in the music business, then there needs to be a great song. Besides that nothing was great about any of the characters nor the acting. Jordan Sparks isn't much of an actress. Everything was so cliché in this. Youngest sister has the most talent but is to scared to be the lead. Oldest sister is the lead but hooks up with the wrong guy and begins using drugs and being abused. Then there is the mom who tried to be a star herself, but succumbed to the evils of show business. Just so done before.FINAL VERDICT: Skip it.
The worse thing about this movie is that they fall in line with everything else that Hollywood does today and that's piggyback off of the truly great movie makers of yesterday. Zero talent in regards to coming up with your own ideas and concepts so you use one from the past, change a few things and in the end you create an extremely poor version of a great classic. Not only does the story completely change from what we know, but not one of the characters holds a candle to any of the originals. For a story placed in the 60's much of what they did change does not even seem to match up with the times. The only reason this movie gets a three from me is for the new songs in the end being semi-decent songs even though they also did not fit with the times and simply because I like many of the actors. I'm just sorry they all agreed to such a poor rendition of this timeless classic. This movie was so drastically changed from the original it should have never been considered a remake, but I gather that was done simply to ride the coat tails of a truly great story.
If you are one who feels that you can't achieve what you set your mind to, then Sparkle is a movie for you! This movie is an uplifting refresher of how a girl, Sparkle, played by Jordin Sparks, had one dream and that was to be a famous singer. Her dreams constantly get torn down by her sisters, D and Sister, but mainly her mom, Emma, which is played by the famous Whitney Houston. Although many tried to steer her away from the singing business, Sparkle was determined to be what she wanted to be instead of what her mother had planned for her to be. The three sisters formed a group together, where Sister was the lead singer. They constantly snuck out in order for their mom to not find out they were going against her. All Sparkle really wanted was for her music to get noticed and if they had to sneak around to do it, she was willing to. I personally enjoyed this movie because of the different things that occurred throughout the movie were very similar to Whitney Houston's real life. Sister was known as "the mess up" because she grew up not respecting her mother and always did her own thing. Sparkle was the good little church girl who everyone loved and D was the other sister who had the aspiration of becoming a doctor. These two sisters were headed in the right direction with their lives; their mom strived for them not to become like herself or Sister. Emma was a former singer who let drugs, sex, and other things distract her from being the best singer she could be, so she quit that lifestyle and became a well-known member of the church. This is indeed very ironic because Houston grew up as that good little church girl everyone loved, but as she became more popular throughout the world, she started to abuse her fame. As the girls became popular, Sparkle started to have a relationship with one of their producers, who really enjoyed what Sparkle was doing and tried to make her get noticed. But, Sparkle didn't want to betray her mother and go against her rules, but singing was her passion and she couldn't stop. Sister started to abuse her fame and started to date the "Mr. Big Shot," Satin, played my Mike Epps. Satin was a lady's man who made Sister do drugs, drink, and drift away from her family. The group then started to go its separate ways because Sister wanted to do things on her own with Satin and although he constantly abused her, she felt as if staying with him was what's going to get her to the top. This was exactly the life Houston lived when married to Bobby Brown. He got her hooked on drugs and constantly beat her, but Houston "loved" him so much, she was willing to risk her life for someone who made her into someone the world loathed. Houston basically was forced to leave the ones she loved for Bobby and wasn't as close to her family as she used to be because Bobby and drugs were her new family. Towards the end of the movie, there was a scene where Emma was singing in church asking God why many things had to happen to her and how she wants to give her life back to Him. This was the scene that really hit home for me because of the irony. Houston lived a life for Christ before and even a little during her fame, but as the years progressed, she let fame get in the way of everything. Drugs had taken over her life and she wasn't who she used to be at all. The life she lived for the majority of the time was something no one should go through. After the movie filmed, Whitney died of a drug overdose. This makes the movie as a whole ironic because the movie hit many key points in her life and ended with her pleading to God and asking Him why she had to live the life she lived and go through all those trials. This movie is a must see if you want to see a girl who lived in constant negativity make her way out to become something positive and inspirational. I feel as if this movie showed the life Whitney Houston could've had if she chose to not abuse her fame. This movie isn't something you should just wait to rent at Red Box, go see it in theater and rent it! It's such a great movie that inspired me personally to strive for what I believe in and not let things deter me away from my goal.
I was a little prejudice when I went to see it. I really liked the original version. But this was surprisingly better, granted doing a remake you will alway's have an advantage. In addition the the main story line they did an excellent job of painting the picture of the black culture in the 60's (that was a real plus for me) If I had a vote on "ANY" awards show I would Nominate this movie for the following. Best Cinematography Best Screenplay Best Supporting Actress- Carmen Ejogo. Of course the music was great. Jordan Sparks really impressed me I wasn't sure about her at first but she "Nailed" the songs "One Wing" & "Love Will"