Star in later years as actress, recording artist, and Academy Award-winning songwriter Studio, the financial prospects of an Aretha Franklin album must have appearedĪ great deal more lucrative than that of a soundtrack album to a modest filmĮxclusive Motown choreographer whose routines for musical acts like The Supremes and The Temptations were the inspiration for Lester Wilson's work in SparkleĪlthough the delectably fresh-faced Irene Cara emerged the bigger The film's cast interpretation of the songs, one has to imagine that, to the Although I've read conflictingĪccounts over the years as to the whys of this decision, and while I personally prefer The songs, as sung by the film's cast, are all so well-performed that there was an outcry from fans when the soundtrackĪretha Franklin taking over the vocals exclusively. Staple of girl-group performances for years. The stylized, often witty, gesture/posing dance style that became an identifying Riffs on the early R&B/Soul sound of Motown, while Wilson's choreography captures Mayfield's songs are pop/funk, '70s-style Self-effacing Sparkle Williams (Irene Cara)…i.e., the obvious heroine of theĪs a fan of musicals, Sparkle's primary appeal for me has always been Curtis Mayfield's catchy musical score and the sleek, '60s girl-group choreography of Lester Wilson. Self-assured, and headed-for-certain-trouble Sister Williams (Lonette McKee), one-third of the gospel-singing Williams sisters, consisting of woke, budding Black-Power radical, Delores Williams (Dwan Smith) and sweet-natured,
"I want the big time!" conveniently asserts beautiful, Sparkle is a '50s girl group take on the oft-told show-biz saga of gifted performers from humbleīeginnings who discover, only too late, that the road to fame is paved with The beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. And the songs prefigure the emergent voices of inner-city youth and Seedy R&B/soul circuit pay homage to the Black roots of rock The small-time show-biz milieu of Harlem jazz clubs and the They represent as conflicting symbols of Black upward mobility andĬrossover success.
The girl-group plotline evokes The Supremes and all Still, SPARKLE is a good little musical that's worth seeing and especially if you enjoy the music of the period.And time is Harlem/1958. Joel Schumacher wrote the screenplay and does a pretty nice job with the story even though there's no doubt that it's a tad bit too simple and I'd also argue that it could have avoided the blaxploitation notion that all white people are evil and just out to do bad things (the money lenders in this film). You really do feel as if you're in the 1950s and that certainly helps the movie.
Director Sam O'Steen does a very good job with the details of the era and I thought he managed to make the scenery very realistic. Lonette McKee is also good as the older sister who gets mixed up in the drugs. Another good performance comes from Philip Michael Thomas as the man in her life trying to make her see how special of a talent she has. From the very first time you see Cara she just grabs you up and takes you along on this journey.
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Another major plus is the performance of Cara who easily steals the film. The songs really capture the mood and spirit of R&B during this period and while none of the songs can compare to the real hits of the day, I think each of them are good enough to at least help draw you into the story. I think the most attractive thing the film has going for it are the songs composed by Curtis Mayfield. Based on the story of The Supremes, SPARKLE is a pretty entertaining gem that manages to get you caught up in the story even though there's no question it's all rather predictable and at times too cute for its own good. Sparkle (1976) *** (out of 4) Set in Brooklyn during the 1950s, the story revolves around Sparkle (Irene Cara), a talented teenager who joins a band with her two sisters but things start to unravel when the older sister gets involved with drugs.
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