Also, the writer put a few spins on the story that worked very well as an adaption. It had a lot of memorable one liners and great comebacks. For this to be Mara Brock Akil and her husband's very first feature film together, the script was very well written. As an upcoming writer and film school graduate, there are things about this film that I can truly appreciate more than the average movie goer, like the costumes, the set design, the hair, the locations, and most definitely the script. But to my surprise, I enjoyed it from beginning to end. But thankfully I was invited on a date, so I was relieved that I didn't have to pay for this terrible, terrible film. I kept telling my roommate and best friend that I'm not excited and might just watch it on bootleg and if I do go to see it it will only be for the late and legendary Whitney Houston. I actually thought that this movie was going to be terrible. And Sparkle as a solo act (with backup singers, a gospel choir and a full pit orchestra) brings down the house.Before I begin reviewing the movie, I just want to say first that if you haven't seen the original or didn't even know that there was an original, you might not enjoy this movie as much as someone who respects it's classic status in black cinema. "Sister and Her Sisters," the original trio, come across as a gifted American Idol version of Diana Ross and the Supremes, which I think is the idea. The basic purpose of the film is to fit the story into wall-to-wall music, and it does that with style and energy. I won't say more about Satin, except that the character inspires a prison sentence that is treated by the film with curious superficiality. The most electrifying scenes involve the destructive comedian Satin, a local celebrity, who finds Sister in love with the sincere young man Levi ( Omari Hardwick), humiliates him, sweeps her up, gives her a diamond and in what seems like days is knocking her around and has her addicted to cocaine. The screenplay by Mara Brock Akil, inspired by Joel Schumacher's original for the (lesser) 1976 movie "Sparkle," follows well-worn showbiz patterns as the girls go from rags to riches to tragedy to comeback. We are meant to believe these early steps in their career were made possible when they sneaked out of their bedroom windows at night apparently Emma had no hint of their subterfuge. That comes after the three girls have taken the first steps in a musical career masterminded by a nice guy named Stix ( Derek Luke), who meets Sparkle at church, falls in love, and produces their first shows. Carmen Ejogo, who you may recall as Thomas Jefferson's lover in the TV series "Sally Hemmings," steals the film not only in her sultry singing numbers but in her violent marriage to a snaky, evil comedian named Satin ( Mike Epps). She lives and breathes music and fills notebooks with her songs but doesn't have the courage to face the spotlight as the movie opens she's backstage urging Sister to solo, which Sister, after a show of reluctance, does - sensationally. The shy sweetheart is Sparkle, played by the perfectly named American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. The most serious is college student Dee ( Tika Sumpter), apparently the first woman they've ever seen who wears an Afro. The most fragrant flower in the bouquet is slinky, sexy Sister ( Carmen Ejogo).
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