Sparkle--Not The Bright Light It Could Have Been

Let me start with a declaration of unwavering support for the Brock/Akil team and full disclosure of my general dislike of classic movie remakes.  When I initially heard about the probability of the Sparkle remake, I actually had high hopes for the project.  After all, it’s one of my favorite black films and I wanted a younger generation to see and enjoy it.  The original casting choice of Aaliyah in the title role was brilliant.  Her on screen persona was just as sweet, petite, talented and bright as the original Sparkle, Irene Cara.  It seemed like a remake that might actually work, especially if the rewritten screenplay stayed close to Joel Schumacher’s original story. 

By the time I attended the press screening this past Wednesday, my expectations for the film were significantly lower than they were when I’d first learned of the project.  This classic film about a single mom, raising three beautiful, talented daughters during our civil rights era, had already turned into something completely different months before its release.  It had turned into Whitney Houston’s swan song, as her life had met a tragic end shortly after the completion of the film. Whitney was also an icon from a particular era of black entertainment.  She, too, will remain a classic.  And apparently, as one of the film’s producers, she decided against sticking with certain details of the story—details that made Sparkle the gem that it has been since it’s 1976 debut.

In this almost totally brand new story, we see a single mom, who is clearly well-off  (not a struggling domestic worker) and now living in a big house in the suburbs of Detroit (instead of the two room apartment in Harlem), having no financial issues raising her three daughters alone, a much stricter Christian than originally written.   While it is always great to see upwardly mobile onscreen images of us, the story of Sparkle is rooted in this family’s struggle, which is completely lost in the new version.   This, along with the casting choices (which I’ll elaborate on later) is troubling to me.  The struggle that originally drove Sister into the murderous hands of Satin, Sparkle to choose secular music over the church choir and Delores to deal with any of this show biz nonsense, is missing from this remade version.  Had I not seen the original version, I wouldn’t be able to emotionally connect to these three girls and their desire to be stars.  The remake feels like an incomplete story to me, leaving out a huge part of what it was that made these characters who they were and what made them do what they do, the way that they do it.

There were interesting casting choices as well, some of which I did like quite a bit.  The role of the middle sister, Delores, played brilliantly by Tika Sumpter, was expanded so that she was a fuller character than in the original film.  That, I must say, was a pleasant surprise.  Tika took the role of the strong, intelligent, confident sister to a new level and I loved it.  Although this mom is totally different from the character played by Mary Alice, Whitney Houston is very convincing as the no nonsense matriarch of this family.  Derek Luke kept Stix just as charming as in the original and Mike Epps actually humanized the despicable Satin Struthers.  But the rest of the casting is questionable for me. 

Make no mistake—all of the cast members are eye candy give a good performance with the material they had to work from.  Unfortunately, the formerly lovable Levi does not exist in this version.  Instead, Omari Hardwick was handed a character that initially appears to be simple minded, unfocused and lost.  This Levi quickly becomes unlikeable and insignificant to the story, which is disappointing because Levi was the catalyst for several developments in the original.  Equally distracting is the gorgeous Carmen Ejogo, who was not a good casting choice for the role of Sister.  This is was painfully evident as the camera pans Ejogo’s somewhat curve-less body during her sexually charged stage performances.  Much of Sister’s appeal to her audience (both on the set and in the theater), and her men, was Lonette McKee’s sassy, sensual curves, along with that beautiful face.  The same moves that looked effortlessly sexy on McKee ended up just looking desperate on Ejogo.  I’m not critiquing Ejogo’s acting ability—she is convincing as a troubled, confused young woman of the 60s.  Casting her as Sister is simply a visual casting faux pas.  Visually, Jordin Sparks looks more like the original Sister, much more than she bears any resemblance to Sparkle. 

Which brings me to little Ms. Jordin Sparks, who, I must admit, didn’t do a bad acting job.  If I were simply listening to the film, Jordin as Sparkle is very believable.  Visually, however, she, like Carmen, is not right for this role.  The original Sparkle, was a tiny, olive skinned, dreamy eyed girl, who was every bit the baby girl of the family.  Her look, as well as the look of the other two sisters, also silently spoke about the mom’s past relationships. Jordin does not look like the baby of the family, though she is definitely a dreamy eyed girl, nor does she look like the full sister of Delores.  It is understandable though, that of these three women, she would be the one cast as the singer because Jordin Sparks can sing!  The last moments of the film seem to be a showcase for Jordin, as she powerfully belts out two original songs using all of her vocal abilities. 

Sparkle, though filled with some insurmountable issues for me, does have many good points.  The best thing about this film is the soundtrack.  Both the original and the new songs drive the feel of this story.  There are memorable performances from both Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks.  Ruth Carter absolutely worked her costume design magic in this film.  Additionally, even with all of its obvious departures from the original story, the film still sells the audience on the idea that if you stick to your dreams, stay focused and do the right thing no matter what obstacles you face, everything you want is achievable. 

Sparkle will certainly do well during this first weekend, particularly since it is being billed as Whitney Houston’s final film performance.  I would have enjoyed it more on the small screen, perhaps as an HBO film.  There are sure to be nominations down the line from NAACP Image Awards, Golden Globe Awards, SAG Awards, etc.  There may even be an Oscar nomination for the soundtrack and possibly costume design, both of which would be well deserved.

I got exactly what I expected from this project.  You will, too.  Whatever the issues are, we now have another dramatic story on the big screen, which adds to the black film community’s body of work.  I will continue to be a Brock/Akil fan and supporter of black films. 

But please look out for my list of DO NOT REMAKE films, coming soon.  We have enough original stories of our own to bring to life.  Let’s focus on that, shall we?