What a movie! I wanted to watch Sparkle after hearing about it, after falling in love with Dream Girls, when that film was released. Sparkle, made in 1976, has some obvious similarities to Dream Girls, but has many differences that set it apart from the Hollywood titan. Sparkle might be three decades old, but the story and characters are just as relevant today as they were when this film was made. Sparkle was probably made with a fraction of the cost of Dreamgirls, but shines just as bright and sounds just as wonderful, it just isn’t as showy in its’ delivery. The performances, both acting and singing, are nuanced and never seem contrived or misplaced. Sparkle is not a musical, but seats itself as a dramatic film, that follows the life of several women as they try to build lives in the entertainment industry. It also details how painful life is for those around them. Every choice we make has effects we do not often realize, with consequences we never intend, and this film is very good at exposing those moments, bringing the characters to life. The cast is incredible; they have a strength and power missing in many films and they make this film timeless. This film is a bit darker than Dreamgirls, but that adds to the movie; it does not burden it. Watching the eldest sister fall into a life of drugs and abuse is painful, but it is also entirely real and plausible. This film is not without some faults. The story is too often predictable and many times the era it was constructed in shows. The film seems a bit too melodramatic at times, but these slips are few and the film does not lose focus because of them. A classic film in my book; add this one to the queue. 4.5 stars out of .
Find out more about Sparkle on IMDb here.
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