In this remake of the 1976 film that starred Irene Cara as a hopeful singer, American Idol’s Jordin Sparks steps into her shoes. And like all these soulful Motown movies – Mahogany, Dream Girls – there’s a lot of ‘stuff’ that gets in the way of fame.
In this case, and somewhat more original than the others, Whitney Houston plays the family matriarch instilling strict Bible
and “the Lord” rules under their roof. And so the story of three hopefuls – Sister (Carmen Ejogo), Sparkle (Jordin Sparks)
and Dolores (Tika Sumpter) finds an interesting twist to the usual money vs love battles that ensue.
Each sister brings something original to the table. Dolores wants to go to medical school, Sister wants fame and riches, but
its Sparkle, the mousey youngest sister with her passion for writing songs that challenges her faith, asking her mother “Why did God give me such a gift if I can’t use it?” Sparks really shines in this film, resonating sincerity and hope and all things innocent.
What starts out as a clean, old-fashioned 60s movie – to the point of feeling way behind it’s time – ends up as an eerie and sad reflection of the real life of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. And maybe that was its intention? Art mirrors life. Life mirrors art.
Though some of her lines probably should have been cut from the final edit in lieu of her death.
Its obvious why Houston spent ten years trying to bring this film to fruition…one can only wish she lived to hear the beautiful soundtrack even if the story oddly parallels her life. Disastrous. One can only be happy she made the movie so we could see and hear her again. And for that it garnishes two tiaras