I never saw the original Sparkle made in 1976 which starred Irene Cara and even the recent movie that is also being compared to which is 2006's Dreamgirls which was a box office hit and won some Oscars too but based, on the synopsis of what I'd read from the movies mentioned, this 2012 Sparkle, despite all the cliches is one highly entertaining film. I was never bored watching every single minute of it.
The film setting is 1960's Detroit and Motown was still the dream of aspiring songwriters and singers who wanted to be recognized by the legendary recording company. American Idol season 6 winner Jordin Sparks plays the titular character, the youngest of three sisters raised alone by Emma (Whitney Houston in her final film), a strict religious lady who doesn't want her daughters to commit the same mistakes she did when she was young thus preventing her kids for pursuing whatever they want. Her performance here is way different from the other three movies that she did. A film with Whitney Houston isn't complete without her singing and her rendition of the classic "His Eye is on the Sparrow" is a great swan song for a life that maximized her talent but cut short by vices.
Eldest daughter named Sister (Carmen Ejogo) is the good looking one who fell in love with some bad decisions straining her relationship with her mom. The sassy one Dolores (Tika Sumpter) is the trail blazing one in terms of fashion sense but is always still there for her family. The two actresses gave outstanding performances in the movie and hopefully in the future be given good roles in better films. It helps that their characters are the flashier ones therefore leaving Sparks acting as bland.
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