Review of Sparkle (2012) by Sol C — 20 Aug 2012

The film was so so. It kind of reminded me a lot of Dreamgirls. However, I liked that film better than this one. I never saw the original. On the positive, the performances are really good. Carmen Ejogo steals the film from Jordin Sparks. Ejogo is really good and maybe Oscar worthy for her performance. She even has a great singing voice. Jordin was ok on her big on screen debut. She has a good on screen chemistry with Derek Luke. Mike Epps gives one of his best performances so far. His performance could also be oscar worthy. Whitney Houston is great in her supporting role. Another big positive is the songs in the film are really good.

On a negative, the film wasn't shot well. The cinematography wasn't good at times. Also the pacing was off. The film was also a little predictable and I wasn't surprised by what happened in the film. The studio should have released the film in December to give it an Oscar chance, rather than releasing it in August.

Despite the flaws the film is definitely worth checking out, especially for the songs and performances.