Sparkle (2012)

Sony/Tri-Star, 2012
Starring Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Carmen Ejogo, and Derek Luke
Directed by Salim Akil
Music by Curtis Mayfield, R.Kelly, and others

Our second Black History Month entry is a remake of a 1976 film that flopped on first release, but became something of a cult favorite in subsequent years. American Idol winner Sparks makes her film debut, and this would be the final film performance of pop and R&B star Whitney Houston, who died three months after filming wrapped. Does the story of a shy girl in the late 60's who uses music to get out from under her strict mother's wing resonate, or does it falter like a bad stand-up comedy routine? Let's head to a nightclub in Detroit in 1968 and find out...

The Story: Sparkle (Sparks) and Sister (Ejogo) are singing in a Detroit club in the late 60's when they're discovered by young Styx (Luke), who is hoping to become a record producer. He and his cousin Levi (Omari Hardwick) get in on the bible group run by their very religious mother Emma (Houston). She shoos everyone out when she has leave as well, but Styx hangs around and sees Sparkle playing her own song. He's impressed with her and her talent and tries to get her to sing. Not only is she too shy, but she's afraid that she'll end up like her mother, who tried to make it as a singer before almost dying in a flurry of drugs, booze, and a bad relationship.

Styx isn't ready to give up on the girls yet. He convinces Sparkle to form a group with Sister and their middle sibling Dee (Tika Sumpter). Dee does it to earn money for medical college, while Sister finally joins in to earn enough for her own apartment. Levi has been courting Sister, but she's more interested in stand-up comedian Satin Struthers (Mike Epps), who has gotten very rich doing jokes about black people for white audiences. They're a sensation at a local talent show, where Sister uses her electric sexuality to wow the crowds. They become a wildly popular club attraction in Detroit, thanks to Sparkle's songs and Sister's raw performances. Sister finally agrees to marry Satin, to her mother's dismay.

The girls get an opportunity to open for Areatha Franklin, but things go downhill from there. Sister's been using cocaine, and Satin is beating her. Not only that, but their mother sees the performance and tells Sparkle she has to choose between her family and her career. Sparkle is devastated, enough to break up with Styx. It takes Sister's tragic sacrifice to make Sparkle and Emma understand just how much music means to the sisters and how important it is to pursue your dreams.

The Song and Dance: It's too bad Houston didn't live to see this movie's release. Ejogo was absolutely electric as Sister, the bad girl of the family who knows how to use her charms and doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. Houston's last performance as the rigid mother who thinks she's keeping her girls from falling into the same trap is also excellent, as is Epps as the comedian who makes fun of his own race, only to have it boomerang back in his face when he tries and fails to court black audiences. The scene in the finale, where Satin tries to beat all three sisters, is a harrowing and well-acted depiction of domestic abuse.

I like how intimate this is, compared to Dreamgirls. This is really just a small story of one family with three very different sisters who want to prove they can make it in show business. Filming in the real Detroit makes it feel even more authentic.

Favorite Number: Ejogo's "Hooked On Your Love," the sisters' song at the talent show, proves just how much she stole this movie. She's absolutely electric as she shimmies and wiggles in her golden halter miniskirt...and both the real audience and the one in the film responds with appropriate delight. Houston's best number is her rousing revivalist song towards the end, "His Eye Is On the Sparrow." Jordin's best number is one of the three written for the film, R.Kelly's heartfelt "One Wing."

What I Don't Like: Sparks and Luke lack...well, sparkle. They come off as dull compared to the dynamic acting around them and have no chemistry whatsoever. You'd never believe they're two crazy kids just starting out in show business. Most of the other songs in the movie are bland and forgettable, even the ones that came from the original film. Houston's Emma can occasionally seem less well-meaning and more like a fundamentalist shrew who smothers her daughters and won't let them do much of anything. No wonder she pushes them away.

The Big Finale: While it does have some of its own charms, including some fantastic performances, it mostly comes off as a Dreamgirls clone. It's worth a look if you're a fan of that movie, Houston, or Sparks.

Home Media: As one of the most recent movies I've reviewed and the last film of a beloved music star, this is fairly easy to find in all formats, usually for under ten dollars.

DVD
Blu-Ray
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