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Sparkle

Play trailer Poster for Sparkle PG 1976 1h 40m Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
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18% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In the 1950s Harlem, Sparkle (Irene Cara), Sister (Lonette McKee) and Dolores (Dwan Smith) are three musically gifted sisters whose mother, Effie (Mary Alice), supports them by working as a maid. Encouraged by Sparkle's boyfriend, Stix (Philip Michael Thomas), the three form a singing group and become a sensation at a local nightclub. However, tensions rise when Sister is appointed the group's lead singer and begins dating Satin (Tony King), an abusive, drug-addicted pimp.
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Sparkle

Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 12/02/2023
The crowded look of the film helps to compensate for the Joel Schumacher script, which appears to be no more than a skeleton. Go to Full Review Keith Phipps AV Club 08/16/2012
B-
It's a rags-to-riches story that doesn't miss a stop along the well-trod ghetto-to-musical-charts path, but makes its journey with tuneful conviction. Go to Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader 08/16/2012
Hackneyed, ho-hum 1976 feature about a black girl group, clearly modeled on the Supremes. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 08/03/2023
Sparkle is watchable because the music by Curtis Mayfield is very good, and the ladies, even though they don't have much, at least nostalgically evoke the grace, style, and power that The Supremes had in the past decade. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Jacoba Atlas Los Angeles Free Press 10/31/2019
Has all the shine of a badly cut rhinestone. Go to Full Review Bernard Drew Gannett News Service 10/22/2019
[An] uneasy marriage of cliched melodrama and music in an odd March of Time technique. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Carlos I @carlosFibarra Feb 6 While the music in Sparkle is nothing short of spectacular, the narrative itself feels like a missed opportunity. Despite the powerhouse vocals, the film ultimately plays out as a serviceable but paint-by-numbers rags-to-riches story that sticks a bit too closely to the standard musical biopic tropes. Given the obvious parallels to Motown history, I found myself wishing we had simply gotten a definitive movie about the actual Supremes instead of this fictionalized, predictable gloss on their legacy. See more 01/24/2018 Now who the hell gave sparkle one damn star!? Also, someone said something about "Effie", talking about this is based off the Supremes..Fool this isn't Dreamgirls... LMAO I guess we really do all look a like to you morons. Back to the movie, and enough about dummies, this movie is a more of a coming of age story. The girls have a strict hard working mother, all can sing and are beautiful. In the 1950's everyone wanted to be a star. Not everyone made it. I love this movie. Drugs, music, heartache, hard work, thieves, liars, and love. Sounds like a the makings of all great musical movies to me! <3 Of most rags to riches stories, this one is one of my favorites. The music, the singing... and the story are great. See more 08/17/2017 Music is incredible! The music in this film is by far the greatest part. Lonette McKee shines as, Sistah. The storyline isn't difficult to follow.The acting as a whole is good, not necessarily outstanding, but good.The lighting is poor and can take away from some of the scenes, All in all, I still think Sparkle is an easily lovable film and one worth seeing. It is definitely one worth hearing, and no you can't just get the soundtrack. The soundtrack is sung by Aretha franklin, and as much as I love Ms. franklin...these songs need to be heard by the cast. See more 07/24/2016 Something about this dragged - the story was the usual overnight success followed by disaster arising from crime and drugs - but mostly it needed better singers. See more 12/25/2015 Great movie, enjoyed the singing a lot. See more 03/26/2015 Great movie full of a lot of emotions See more Read all reviews
Sparkle

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Cast & Crew

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Sam O'Steen

Director

Philip Michael Thomas

Stix

Irene Cara

Sparkle

Lonette McKee

Sister

Dwan Smith

Delores

Mary Alice

Effie

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Sparkle

Sparkle (1976) Sparkle (1976) Sparkle (1976) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In the 1950s Harlem, Sparkle (Irene Cara), Sister (Lonette McKee) and Dolores (Dwan Smith) are three musically gifted sisters whose mother, Effie (Mary Alice), supports them by working as a maid. Encouraged by Sparkle's boyfriend, Stix (Philip Michael Thomas), the three form a singing group and become a sensation at a local nightclub. However, tensions rise when Sister is appointed the group's lead singer and begins dating Satin (Tony King), an abusive, drug-addicted pimp.
Director
Sam O'Steen
Producer
Howard Rosenman
Screenwriter
Joel Schumacher
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Rating
PG
Genre
Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 7, 1976, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 40m