It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Jordin Sparks really sparkles. That's about the only thing that elevates Sparkle from a wannabe "Dreamgirls" to what it is: a star vehicle for Jodin. To promote the movie they cast Whitney Houston in big bold letters but it's really Jodin Sparks who shines as a girl from Detroit in 1968 that breaks all the molds, including her mother's, in order to become Motown's new shining star. I don't mind that her sister named Sister (Carmen Ejogo) steals the spotlight. Sister is, after all, the one that drives every man in the club insane as rabid dogs (and I mean dogs, literally) as she puts on the heat with her sensual performances. All the while, Sparkle is the talented one, the one that pens and inspires the wonderful and original music. The movie is a delight to watch for the great outfits, the club scenes, the live music that you can almost feel and makes you feel part of the audience. Frankly, I enjoy Whitney's last performance as a stern, religious mother who oppresses her daughters to be good Christian, church going women that don't get to experience life and feel forced to sneak out of their home whenever they want to go out and have a little bit of fun at the club. Other performance I enjoy is Derek Luke's (from Antwone Fisher) as Stix, the man who sees Sparkle's potential, and bends over backwards to make her the star that she's destined to be. However, not all is peaches and creme in Sparkle. There's a goofy comedian named Satin (Mike Epps) who pokes fun at his fellow black folk in his stand up routines and makes sure to flash his bling-bling around Sister, who is as pretty as she is dumb to not realize what a jerk he is. The problem I had with their toxic relationship is that they fail at capturing the severity of domestic violence and turn it into an almost comical, over the top note that should never be. How predictable is this story when it tries to imitate Tina Turner? Had anybody seen What's Love Got To Do With It? Sparkle tries to borrow many used ideas from girl group films that might have worked well in the past but bring nothing new to the table, no mystery that Sister and Satin don't get a happy ending. And what's up with those names? Really, who sits and think of naming their kids Sparkle, or Sister, or Stix, or Satin... Really, who?

Last February 12, I reviewed the original Sparkle that starred Irene Cara in the title role and in which I noted Whitney Houston's death the previous day because of her role in the remake which I'm reviewing now. Ms. Houston, who was also one of the exec producers, is very good as the mother of the three daughters who initially form a girl group of singers even though I noticed that her speaking voice was now quite worn from her years of drugs. But her singing her one song here was still great so she left this viewer still wanting more from her though I know we'll just have her recordings and movie and TV appearances to look for now but that should be good enough considering how much she contributed to the entertainment world. Now about this remake: With some changes in story and characterization, not to mention period and location, it's still about one young woman's dream of writing and singing good hit songs despite her mother's initial disapproval. And "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks turns out to be somewhat of a good actress to make the character of Sparkle shine though of course it's really her singing those now-classic Curtis Mayfield songs from the original movie that really puts her through. The most impressive turns are those who play her two sisters especially the one who eventually ends up going to medical school (Tika Sumpter) whenever she confronts her other drug addled sister (Carmen Ejogo) about her abuse at the hands of her comedian husband. As for which version is better, I say this one though it seemed to lose some dramatic edge near the end compared to the original one. Still, the longer length did help open up the story and characterizations enough that I was mostly satisfied so on that note, I highly recommend this version of Sparkle.

I love (d) the original...it is dated, but took on some truthful subjects of the times.I also ADORE the re-make for showing a different dynamic from the "Dream Girl" franchise and really fleshing out the relationships. The film is so explosive and wonderful (in talking about the dynamics of sisters that if you know the 1st film, you re happy at the growth! There is even an addressing of changing times (68 riots in Detroit and Motowns' change) which is awesome, AND...the constance reference of ARETHA FRANKLIN-YES!!!!! If you know the back story...Aretha was supposed to be Sparkle in the orig. but I think they thought she was too chubby and took Irene, but kept her soundtrack because of her powerhouse voice. So I was very happy for the constance mention.The performers...Jordan is just as sweet and innocent as Irene, both simple, I believed her more actually. Carmen lives up to "Sister" and owns it-Well done! Amazing performance Tika bring the savvy and spirit of Marvin Gaye-Revolution!!!Whitney...My heart still cannot handle her rendition of "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" but if ever there was a swan song...this was it in such a chilling yet beautiful way.It's a solid film. You'll get this if you've seen the original then this and take from it (as I ) a heart-felt re-envisioning of a tragic yet beautiful story of family.I Loved!!!!

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