 1.5 out of 4 stars Title Sparkle Written by Mara Brock Akil and Howard Rosenman Directed by Salim Akil Starring Jordin Sparks, Carmen Ejogo, Whitney Houston Classification PG Country USA Language English 
 
 Sparkle is a story about the transformative power of music, the dark side of fame and a young church choirgirl with a dream… can you see how it might be hard to talk about the movie outside of the context of Whitney Houston's death? PHOTOS: DEAD MOVIE STARS 
 
 The remake of a 1976 film starring a young Irene Cara, it’s the story of three sisters, Sparkle (“American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks), Sister (British actress Carmen Ejogo) and Dolores (Tika Sumpter, a real pistol who should have gotten more screen time). In the course of Sister’s vamping, bombshell debut, she and Sparkle attract the attention of a newbie manager named Stix (Derek Luke), who eventually will persuade them to try for the big time; even Sister and Sparkle’s level-headed sister Dee (Tika Sumpter) will agree to don all manner of sequins, wigs and eyelashes-out-to-here in an effort to help Sparkle achieve her dreams. All of their dreams are coming true until Sister strikes up a volatile love affair with a celebrity (Mike Epps as sleazy standup comedian Satin Struthers is standout if uncomfortably reminiscent of Laurence Fishburne's Oscar-nominated turn as Ike Turner in the aforementioned Tina Turner bio-pic). 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.
– No one's going to call Sparkle a work of cinematic genius: It's a no-surprises remake about the struggles of a 1960s girl group. But if you're a Whitney Houston fan, it may be meaningful: In the Washington Post, Ann Hornaday applauds the film. It "may have begun as nothing more than a tuneful, diverting nostalgia trip, but it turns out to be a surprisingly poignant swan song," she writes. There's an eerie element to Houston's character, who "warns against the depredations of an entertainment industry that indulges and exploits young talent just as intently as it nurtures it." In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers calls the movie "a formula job from scene one to dead end." Still, there's one Houston song ("His Eye Is on the Sparrow") that "almost redeems" the film. "In a movie that feels fake to its core, Houston is the genuine article." During that scene, "I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house," notes Sara Stewart in the New York Post. "If you’re still mourning Houston’s death, it’s almost enough of a reason to go." But remember, the movie is more of a "showcase vehicle for a new generation of young actress-hyphen-singers" than a celebration of Whitney. And as for star Jordin Sparks, she "fails to sparkle in any way," writes Courtney Shea in the Globe and Mail.