Sparkle (1974)

Sparkle (1974)

Director: Sam O’Steen
 

The movie I chose to watch and respond to was a classic movie watched in all African American families. Although this movie was made when I was born, I still to this day remember my Mom and Aunties speaking about the movie. The movie Sparkle had a cast of actors who would later be scene in numerous sitcoms and big screens. The movie was said to have been inspired by The Supremes and was set in Harlem, New York during the 50s and 60s. In this movie is where Hollywood received its first introduction to Miami Vice start Phillip Michael Thomas as well as the famous singer Irene Cara.

 The movie is about three sisters named: Sister, Dolores, and Sparkle. They are singers in their local church's teenagers' choir along with their friends Stix. The girls' mother, Effie, works hard as a maid for the Gerber family on Long Island and struggles to keep her girls, especially the "high-spirited" Sister, safe. Stix, a budding songwriter who is in love with Sparkle, wants to start a group, and arranges the five of them into a quintet called "The Hearts". The Hearts enter a local talent show contest, which they win with the help of Sister's stage appeal.

Stix decides to repackage the group as an all-girl trio, appointing Sister lead singer and reducing his role in the act to manager and songwriter. The girls, now known as "Sister & the Sisters", debut at a local club in Harlem and their immediate success gains them a position as regular performers there. Sister becomes involved with a local gangster and begins showing up at the club with bruises from her lover’s abuse and begins taking cocaine.

 Sister's drug use and her life in the "big time" caused her to relinquish her position as lead singer of the group, and a frustrated Stix gives up on music. He leaves Harlem to work in construction upstate, breaking Sparkle's heart in the process. Several months later, Sister has died of drug overdose, and Stix reconciles with Sparkle after her funeral. By this time, he has moved back to New York and gained employment with a record label, and offers to produce Sparkle as a solo star. He borrows money from Effie's employer Max Gerber to fund a recording session, and Sparkle's first single becomes a smash hit. Stix I able to get Sparkle a show at Carnegie Hall as Ray Charles' opening act, but finds himself kidnapped by Gerber's partners in the Mafia for refusing to agree to a partnership in owning the rights to Sparkle's fame. Despite being threatened with death, however, Stix refuses to give in, and the impressed Gerber lets Stix go free. Stix arrives at Carnegie Hall just in time to see Sparkle finish her show.

I chose to give you the breakdown of this movie because there were so many familiar attributes of this movie to the life of Whitney Houston. In August of this year, a remake of Sparkle will be released in theaters which will star Jordan Sparks as Sparkle and the late Whitney Houston as her mother. Houston, who served as Executive Producer of the movie was a fan of the original Sparkle and made it her priority to remake the movie. Originally, the role of Sparkle was given to famed singer Aaliyah, but after her death in the plane crash, the movie was postponed. What I found most interesting was the life of Sister and how it emulated the life of pop star Whitney Houston with the drugs and so forth. Seeing Sister in the casket at her funeral reminded me of the recent death of Houston. The thing which sent chills through my body in this movie was a song sang by the character Sparkle in the ending of the movie. Houston covered the song years later on one of her albums. Although this movie was inspired by The Supremes, it appeared to serve as déjà vu for the life of Whitney Houston and to have her as an Executive Producer for the remake is nothing short of coincidence.

One of the many things I loved about this movie was not only the music, but the wardrobe as well. The directors did an amazing job bringing the characters to life and keeping our attention throughout the movie. I only hope the remake of the movie Sparkle will live up to the original!