Jordin Sparks Takes the Spotlight in Sparkle

During a recent girls’ night out, my friends and I went to see Sparkle, a movie that marks the end of Whitney Houston’s movie career and the beginning of 2007 American Idol winner Jordin Sparks’. Directed by Sam Akil and written by Mara Brock Akil and Howard Rosenman, the movie deals with the formation of a fictional girl group in the late 1960s.

The head of the group is the tempestuous Sister (Carmen Ejogo), who has a beautiful voice and arresting stage presence but is dogged by bad decisions, particularly involving men. Its heart, however, is the titular Sparkle, whom Sparks plays. The younger Sparkle is used to living in the shadow of her sisters , not only the glamorous Sister but the studious Delores (Tika Sumpter), who aspires to be a doctor. While Sparkle has plenty of musical talent, particularly as a composer, she feels uncomfortable in the spotlight and doesn’t want to upset her mother, washed-up singer Emma (Houston), by following her into an industry that nearly destroyed her.

Sparkle has its light moments, and certainly Sparkle herself is meant to be an inspirational figure as she goes from surreptitiously scribbling song lyrics in a book only she sees to performing her own music in front of appreciative crowds. She also gets glammed up, which of course means losing the geeky glasses she sports at the beginning of the movie, something that this proud four-eyes always finds annoying in geek-to-chic-type movies. But the clothes are a minor detail. The important thing is that she is finding her way in the world, with some help from romantic interest Stix (Derek Luke), who knows the music business and thinks she ought to be a part of it.

Because this is a movie about three sisters and their mother, there is a strong family element to it. Each sister is distinctly different but has been heavily influenced by Emma’s strict rules, as well as her troubling missteps. As the oldest who suffered most from Emma’s early mistakes, Sister seems in greatest danger of repeating them, and her storyline is the darkest, delving into issues of domestic abuse and drug use. Because of this, the movie does get a bit gritty at times, but not enough to be a challenge to the PG-13 rating.

For the most part, the music is done well, though I didn’t find any of it particularly memorable. What I enjoyed most were the songs Sparks tackled alone or with back-up, rather than the group songs in which she is relegated to the background. Sadly, Houston’s voice is not in fine form here; she appears unwell throughout the film, which is somewhat appropriate for the character but still difficult to watch in light of the pop idol’s untimely demise.

The cast on the whole is solid, with Sparks and Luke particularly standing out to me. I also enjoyed Curtis Armstrong as Larry, the kind but slightly acerbic executive at Columbia Records who expresses an interest in Sparkle’s group. All told, it’s a fairly forgettable but nonetheless enjoyable movie that is well suited to those who like Motown or Jordin Sparks.