Sparkle: Ends Justify the Means? Never in Film.

Sparkle emerges as just another chaotic and melodramatic rendition of the artist’s rise and fall story. The script overwhelmingly bulges with melodramatic bouts of domestic violence and drug abuse, which is burdensome and depressing, just like all the other rise/fall artist movies. But by the end though, I took away something really important. As clichéd as it may sound, the message of developing an inner sparkle and confidence resonated with me largely because I strive to do so in my life.

Sparkle (Jordin Sparks), a talented yet extremely shy singer-songwriter, leaves the singing up to Sister (Carmen Ejogo), the oldest daughter and star of the family. In Detroit, 1968, Sister and Sparkle live for sneaking out at night and enjoying the musical nightlife at the Discovery Club. They are discovered by Stix (Derek Luke), a budding musical entrepreneur who dreams of managing a talented group like The Supremes. Stix recognizes Sparkle’s immense talent and encourages her to follow her dreams.  In order to get a foot in the door, Stix persuades Sparkle to write songs and convinces her two other sisters (Sister and Dolores) to form a trio. While Sparkle’s sister Dolores (Tika Sumpter) consents purely in order to earn enough money to pay for medical school, Sister realizes this may be her only chance to find a life of her own, away from their pious, overprotective mother, Emma (Whitney Houston). A former professional singer and born-again Christian, Emma discourages her children from pursuing music and urges them to acquire an education and cultivate a loving relationship with God.  

This story is sudden, extreme, and unbelievable. With a swivel of their hips, pretty dresses, and Sparkle’s songwriting talents, Sister and Her Sisters (that’s their group name) gain recognition, popularity, and fame. Sister catches the eye of a popular comedian, whom viewers can immediately recognize as representing “bad news.” He’s a total sell-out, making a living off of ridiculing the struggles and plight of the Black Power movement, particularly the Detroit riots. And he wears too much bling and heckles Sister’s then-boyfriend, Levi, for failing to court her with expensive jewelry. While this character is unredeemable and evil, he interesting and twisted in that he recognizes that he’s nothing but a Sambo doll. As he tries to please the white mainstream audience, he gradually loses support from his fellow African Americans. When he unsuccessfully tries to court the African American audience, he starts taking out his anger and frustration out on Sister through violence and introducing her to drugs. This part of the plot was extremely clichéd and difficult to sit through. I think this is what my friends and I often complain about—biopics and musicals disproportionately emphasize how domestic violence and substance abuse inevitably lead to the downfall of talented artists. As it began to increasingly rely on tearful confrontations and fights, the story started to lose credibility and my interest. When you rely on action as shorthand, as opposed to character development that shines through a character’s actions, yawns are guaranteed. It’s a fine line, but one that should not be crossed.

Although the movie gets to unbearably melodramatic, I still ended up rooting for Sparkle to overcome these adversities. So at least they got that part right. Even though she sometimes appears to be perfect, I could relate to her struggles of truly loving something but being afraid to pursue it. While I have not experienced as much hellish rejection and dissuasion as Sparkle does, I sometimes need to remind myself to retain hope and faith and to persistently pursue my goals. Not only is it important to listen to your loved ones, but you should also listen to your inner voice because you know yourself better than anyone else does.

Jordin Sparks truly shines in her performance of “One Wing.” And in her very last cinematic performance, Whitney Houston (who is also the film’s executive producer) truly sparkles as the stern yet loving mother who wants to protect her children from exploitation and heartbreak. While there are overwhelming parallels between Houston’s life and Sister’s fate, we should also remember that Sparkle is a remake of a 1976 cult-classic film. Through her character and heartfelt performance, Houston emerges as a bastion of this film.

This movie has fired up the weekend charts, largely because this was Houston’s very last film. This movie tries to be like Dreamgirls yet fails to tactfully deal with somber issues such as drug abuse and domestic violence. These kinds of scenes feel truly abusive and torturous as it really lays it upon the viewers. The characters slip into incoherent caricatures and emotional wrecks, and the viewers are left floundering in this melodramatic mess. For example, one particularly intense scene of domestic violence is shot in slow motion in order to soften the blow, but I found this to be all the more disturbing, as this approach may desensitize audiences to such serious issues. Some viewers may find these melodramatic sequences of events to be cathartic, but I found it more emotionally draining and exhausting than anything else. With a more nuanced and realistic script, this could have rivaled films like Dreamgirls. But unfortunately it just couldn’t get beyond the clichéd cautionary tale about fame, drugs, and spousal violence.  For those who want to see Whitney Houston shine for the last time, they may want to look into this film.  For those who are anticipating another flick like Dreamgirls or Ray, I’m afraid you may be disappointed.

But even with the flaws, Sparkle is truly self-affirming near the end. The film encourages viewers to believe in themselves, even when others may doubt their abilities and worth. At first, Sparkle hesitates to sing her own songs because she thinks that she lacks the proper star power. However, she learns to embrace her talent and passion for music and later develops a stronger sense of confidence. Sister emerges as her foil. While she possesses talent and beauty and seems unbeatable, she seeks validation from people around her. Above all else, she is scared of becoming an unfulfilled and unaccomplished spinster. Full of regrets and bitterness about what she lacks in her life, she settles for a quick fix in every way possible, including a rich husband and cocaine. Dolores, the second daughter, has her eyes set on medical school and is the obedient, successful daughter that every mother wants to show off. While she is fortunate to have her mother’s blessings, her other sisters do not. One of them makes it because she successfully hones her inner sparkle, and the other fails because she begins to doubt her self-worth and abilities. With unoriginal and unimpressive films, I like to think about what I can take away from them. Sparkle illustrates that as important as it is to seek out connections and opportunities, it is more important to trust yourself to follow through these big, life-changing decisions. If the writers had actually honed in on and, through hard work and practice, found their own inner sparkle (and trusted it), perhaps they could have written a truly great film whose characters and narrative arc matched the grandeur of the message they were attempting.