Sparkle
TriStar Pictures | Release Date: August 17, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
13
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchKevin C. JohnsonAug 17, 2012
Energetic, colorful and packed with strong performances and musical numbers good enough to get by, Sparkle beams brightly. Read full review
80
Time OutAlison WillmoreAug 18, 2012
Sister is the one you remember; like the film, she's mesmerizing because of her flaws as well as her charms. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 16, 2012
Sparkle isn't blindingly original but it delivers solid entertainment, and despite the clichés I was never for a moment bored. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 16, 2012
Sparks' strengths include not just a powerful voice but also a radiant niceness, and that becomes part of the story. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyAug 16, 2012
Sparkle is a solid entertainment with a winning debut by Jordin Sparks in the title role. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 16, 2012
Most of the stuff that's new in the new Sparkle, written by Mara Brock Akil (who is married to the director), is shrewd and cleverly considered. The stuff that's old is what people responded to back in '76. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyAug 16, 2012
The look, styles, dialogue and attitudes all feel more 21st century than 1968, but this new Sparkle still sparkles more brightly than its 1976 namesake, which was a sort of rough draft for Dreamgirls. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaAug 16, 2012
Sparkle is pure melodrama, but it's a high-powered, well-acted, entertaining melodrama. You may not always believe it, but you won't be bored. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallAug 16, 2012
Sparkle may wind up as Ejogo's breakthrough but will forever be remembered as Houston's swan song, and a glimpse of what her next life chapter might have been. What a talent. What a waste. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAug 16, 2012
Sparkle is never more than an overheated mediocrity. The one thing it isn't, however, is dull. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayAug 16, 2012
While Sparkle doesn't give the audience a lasting memory of Houston's voice at its most soaring, it does manage to provide a lingering sense of loss, mixed with celebration and grim irony. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigAug 16, 2012
Shines brightest during its musical numbers. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisAug 16, 2012
It's a better movie than what's inspired it, but that fails to explain much. It's like preferring the line at the concession stand to the one for the bathroom. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineSara Maria VizcarrondoAug 16, 2012
The shadow of Whitney Houston's stardom and crushing recent death hang heavy over this midrange movie that promises its female audience at least three good cries during its somewhat overlong run time. Read full review
60
TimeMary PolsAug 16, 2012
Sparkle, while occasionally silly in a way that made a preview audience titter, is decent entertainment. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAug 16, 2012
A strong cast, empathetic direction and memorable soundtrack help create a movie that does everyone proud. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 22, 2012
Sparks, an acting novice, falters when her character must muster gumption or sexual heat. She saves her best for last in a barnburner singing performance, but it's too little, too late – especially with the memory of Houston's one song – a heart-stopping gospel number – still ringing in the ears. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 18, 2012
These numbers, frankly, display a professionalism and confidence that most of the rest of the movie can't match. And yes, that's the bad news. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliAug 18, 2012
The only time Sparkle evidences energy is during the song performances, of which there are too few. The half-baked melodrama provides an unappealing and overlong buffer between them that fails to justify the nearly two-hour running time. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartAug 17, 2012
For a movie called Sparkle, the absolutely least interesting or central thing about it is Sparkle (and Sparks), although the "Idol" singer does bust out one impressive performance. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsAug 16, 2012
The film spends so little time developing its characters, apart from all that expository dialogue, that it's like asking audiences to care for paper dolls. And Sparkle never delivers on the promise of its most famous song by giving viewers something they can feel. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen HoldenAug 16, 2012
In many ways Sparkle is a bumpy ride. The editing is haphazard, the cinematography too dark, and there are holes in the story. If the new songs on the soundtrack are effective Motown pastiches, most of them pale beside their prototypes. But diluted Motown is better than none. Read full review
50
VarietyAndrew BarkerAug 16, 2012
Sparkle deals in such well-worn rise-and-fall music-bio tropes that it's hard to blame it for simply coasting on narrative shorthand at times. But the lackadaisical storytelling can inch toward outright laziness. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonAug 16, 2012
The forebear's underwritten melodrama has been supplanted by Tyler Perry–like soap operatics and much jawing about the Lord, riots in the Motor City, marriage proposals, and maternal heartbreak and disapproval. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEric HendersonAug 16, 2012
Whitney Houston's death is just about the only thing that gives the film real, albeit mostly unintentional, life. Read full review
40
Total FilmKen McIntyreOct 1, 2012
Sparkle isn't "Dreamgirls" – but fans of schmaltzy showbiz fairytales should enjoy it. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Courtney SheaAug 16, 2012
Anyone who has seen "Dream Girls," "What's Love Got To Do With It?" or even "The Doors" will find themselves in familiar (if inferior) territory here. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 16, 2012
Whitney Houston deserved better than to go out onscreen with this botch job remake of a 1976 soap opera that never deserved another thought. Read full review
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