Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I did not expect to like this movie, but I really loved it. The original movie was a favorite of mine, but the rewrites really made the story more realistic. Not all black families lived in the ghetto in the sixties and most black men were not and are not drug dealers.Satin was a more believable character as a jealous comedian. Even the domestic violence portrayed the real issue behind the violence, insecurity, not sadism as the first movie implied and it showed how women get caught up in love and belonging, not the money. Whitney Houston's character was defined in this movie and the church setting provided an opportunity for Whitney to do her thing.The original movie was made during the period of blaxploitation, and without the caricatures, it is doubtful that the movie would have been made. At that time black people were simply happy to see someone who looked like them on the big screen. There were actual human beings in the remake and I think I even liked the songs better.Don't believe the critics. This was really a great movie.

There's an indisputable star of this synthetically watchable 2012 melodrama, and it's neither the late Whitney Houston in her last role nor Season 6 "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks. It's relatively unknown British actress Carmen Ejogo (Maya Rudolph's sister in "Away We Go") who explodes off the screen in the meaty, scene-stealing role of Sister, the hell-raising eldest of a trio of daughters to Emma Anderson, an uptight, church-going woman who raised them on her own. Emma is Houston's supporting role, and while she proves she had the makings of a solid character actress, there is an unfortunate shroud of irony in her presence given her own tragic, tabloid-saturated life was itself a cautionary tale about the lure of drugs in show business. This time in the part Lonette McKee played superbly in the 1976 original, Ejogo inhabits the character living out the nightmare of drug addiction and spousal abuse.The rest of the movie is mostly by the numbers. It opens in 1968, a decade later than the original movie's story, with Sister and her little sister Sparkle sneaking out to a nightclub headlined by a period- costumed Cee Lo Green in a cameo appearance. Sister vamps her way through an original song by Sparkle, which attracts the attention of an aspiring record producer named Stix. He encourages them to shoot for the big time, so they convince level-headed sister Dee to make it a trio decked out sequins, wigs and false eyelashes in order to become the next Supremes. What struck me is how eerily the three women look like the original Supremes line-up with Sparks resembling Florence Ballard and Ejogo looking like a sultry cross between Diana Ross and Beyoncé. Of course, their newfound success comes with heartache, as Sister takes up with a smooth albeit vicious stand-up comic named Satin, and Sparkle struggles between family devotion and her burgeoning love for Stix.Naturally Emma is constantly worried that her girls will repeat the same mistakes she made when she tried to make it as a singer only to be spit out by the music industry. That means Houston spends most of her limited screen time either fretting about her family or being self-righteous about her religious convictions. The dinner table scene between her and Ejogo is the movie's best scene laying bare the deep-seeded resentment Sister has for her mother and providing a flash of grief over a line that reminds you how Houston died. The melodrama is laid on pretty thick, especially during Sister's downward spiral, but director Salim Akil ("Jumping the Broom") and his wife, screenwriter Mara Brock Akil, balance it with just enough lighter moments. The songs, of course, are what matters the most, and smartly, Curtis Mayfield's original compositions have been retained with the standouts being "Hooked on Your Love", "Look into Your Heart" and especially "Something He Can Feel" which Ejogo performs with sultry conviction.The new songs by R. Kelly are not nearly as memorable since they sound too contemporary for the period. Sadly, Houston sings only once in character, the spiritual stand-by, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow", and limited to her lower register, her coarsened voice, while emotionally impactful, is vocally a mere shadow of her once-beautiful pipes. Sparks gets to sing a lot more with a predictably booming voice, and she delivers an unaffected turn in the title role. Mike Epps gives a strong performance as Satin, and his scenes with Ejogo echo similarly volatile scenes in "What's Love Got to Do with It?" As Stix, Derek Luke does much better work than Philip-Michael Thomas in the original. Tika Sumpter provides some memorably defiant moments as Dee, the one sister who could take or leave the music. The movie runs too long at 116 minutes, but between Houston's death and Ejogo's star-making turn, it takes on a greater depth than the musical nostalgic trip it was originally designed to be.

"Don't ever be sorry for telling the truth." Sparkle (Sparks) is a great song writer but is afraid to preform them herself. Her sister is a great singer who can seduce any crowd. Along with their other sister they form a group that is on the cusp of getting a record deal, all while keeping the secret from their mom (Houston). But not everyone can handle success. Going into this movie I was more or less expecting another version of "Dreamgirls". For the most part that is what I got. The ironic thing about this though is that the main singer in this who was trying to be like Diana Ross ended up being more like Whitney Houston (I'm not sure if she knew or not). Again though for the most part this is just a remake of "Dreamgirls", even casting another "American Idol" as the star. I can't decide what one I liked more but I'm leaning toward "Dreamgirls" mainly because I like Eddie Murphy. Overall, if you liked "Dreamgirls" you will like this one. I give it a B.

*Spoiler/plot- Sparkle, 2012, A black-single mom's three talented daughters get their 'singing' break in a Detriot neighborhood contest and then major problems occur.*Special Stars- Whitney Huston, Jordin Sparks, Derek Luke, Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, Tike Sumpter.*Theme- Fame for fame sake is destructive without family love and understanding.*Trivia/location/goofs- Whitney Huston's LAST role and performance. She produced this film.*Emotion- A dramatic and interesting film about the highs and lows of the music business. A deeply ironic film knowing about Ms. Huston's sad final fate. A personal slice of life for many in the production and their audience viewers.