Pulling restraint or subtlety as far as the bigger picture is concerned.

Including Sparks, delivering their lines with conviction. No one gives a bad performance, all of the actors, Listened, which is unfortunate because the pieces for a reasonably entertaining Did anyone at all think to themselves that less in the case of Sparkle’s triumphant moment might be more? Were there conversations that going over the top with a lot of unnecessary theatrics might call attention away from the innate power of the moment and instead bring back memories of Sparks beating out Blake Lewis for the long-running reality television show’s 2007 crown? I bring up “American Idol” for a reason, not because Jordan Sparks was the sixth season winner (making comparisons to Academy Award-winning season four also-ran Jennifer Hudson practically inevitable), but because of the way the final concert is shot, executed and staged. Having no apparent meaning, events leading to a foregone conclusion that’s as In the end time, circumstance, character and continuity Slapping the viewer across the face when a subtle caress would have been a heck TheĪkils present this story with a turgid dogmatism that’s close to insulting, continually All of this is present none of it is interesting. The heartbreak and bitter aftertaste ofĭreams left unfulfilled. Much all of this story a billion times before. Themselves into their respective characters’ self-destructive pursuits withĬonviction, making their tragedy to come at least somewhat compelling by their Is acted with passion by Ejogo and Epps, their scenes delivered with anĮlectricity of purpose the majority of the picture sadly lacks. A subplot involving Sister and Satin, while trite and unoriginal, Left me feeling bruised, battered and bludgeoned, and the glorious soundtrackĪside there was hardly a single part of it I ended up enjoying. Of show-stopping musical moments, this is still a nearly two-hour mess that Slog of clichés, facile melodrama and missed opportunities. Mess, the film going the Dreamgirls meets A Star is Born routeīut never in a way that feels fresh or imaginative. Dramatically and structurally, this remake is a Sounds that make the body enthusiastically move and groove even while sitting quietly Musically this was a wise idea, their film filled with pulsating rhythms and In time, setting their story right in the middle of the Motown explosion. (“The Game”) have transported their version of Sparkle even further back ( Jumping the Broom) and his screenwriter wife Mara Brock Akil Musical starring Irene Cara and Philip Michael Thomas, director Salim Akil Stardom before they even achieve liftoff. The potential to bring down the group and destroy Sparkle’s dreams of musical Struthers ( Mike Epps), their abusively destructive relationship having But Sister has also engendered the affections of comedian Satin Young women catching the eye of a Columbia Records executive ( CurtisĪrmstrong). Quickly the trio’s star is on the rise, the All three ladies to form a group with Sister as the lead and Sparkle

Sparkle 2012 soundtrack