Glitter (2001)

While it does play like a TV movie, I hardly think this is AS bad as it's reputation will lead you to believe. Glitter is very cliched, but Mariah is actually a surprisingly good actress, and her soundtrack for this album is extremely underrated and unique, as it captures an 80s vibe, and stands out from the rest of Mariah's discography. I've seen movies that were way worse that never got taken to task. I can't help but feel that Mariah's breakdown, the untimely release of Glitter near 9/11 and the bad luck of singers turned actresses all played a part in making Glitter one of the most derided movie of all time. I mean, in the bottom 250? No way is it that bad.

I've got Glitter on VHS collecting dust, and though I really can't bring myself to hate it since it has historical merit to me (New York with World Trade Center buildings pre-9/11), once you've seen it, once is all you need. It's a boring, shallow story with a boring, shallow lead actress who has, since Glitter's box-office bomb and reputation for being one of the worst films of all time, blamed it on everything and everyone but herself, including 9/11, which I find distasteful. Personally I feel like Glitter flopped because frankly Mariah Carey just isn't that great. Sure, she was amazing in the 2009 film 'Precious', but by the time 'Precious' came out, Carey had grown up a great deal. In 'Glitter', she comes across as full of herself and an airhead, and though it depends on the tastes of the individual viewer, I didn't think her songs were good. It's the type of music I liked when I was twelve years old, and the film is stuffed with it, and it just makes what could have been a heartfelt romance film come off as a bad publicity stunt for a washed-up singer. To be fair though, it's not that horrible that I'd call it "the worst", I enjoyed it when I was in elementary school, but it's just not as good as Carey apparently thinks. Somewhere along the way she must've been persuaded that 'Glitter' had a modern, original concept, but it really doesn't.

This movie was truly one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The soundtrack was pretty good for the kids. Which I was in High School at the time. Overall, I remember the plot just being really bad. Even with Mariah Carey being the main star. In fact, it almost seemed like a bad parody of Mariah Carey's life. I was shocked that she allowed this. I just remember the crazy/drunk MTV strip tease, and that's pretty much how this movie was. It's really just a marketing tool for Mariah Carey. I'm a fan,but not that big of fan. I'd only watch this if you were absolutely bored out of your mind. Otherwise, there's nothing interesting about this movie to watch. Tennessee was a much better production, and plot to see Mariah in.

I had to see Glitter, finally.I've heard so many bad things about it and how many top 10 (of not #1) worst lists of all time it appeared on. I liked the fact that the only things I knew about this, was the cover with Mariah covered with, well, glitter and that it was (obviously) about a singer. I had never seen a preview, read a review or knew anything about the plot. So despite everyone's opinion – since 2001, I came in with a clean slate. And that was refreshing.No, the movie wasn't refreshing; it was deafening. I was referring to the open-mind going in.Billie (Mariah Carey) is a star born from her alcoholic mother on stage. Not shy at all, the little Billie sings her heart out. A star is born? Not so fast; we need some foreshadowing to mother falling asleep with a cigarette in tow nearly killing both mother and daughter. Off the daughter goes to foster care. She meets two friends…Man, I'm bored just recapping this melodramatic, Lifetime reject.Let's just skip to the rest of the ho-hum parts. She grows, dances for an early 1980's crowd, insert drama, gets discovered by two men, both of which use her, more drama here, and she rises to the top, ensuring even more drama.I can't say I hated this movie. It just wasn't good at all. Namely for the absolutely no-talent (in acting) Carey. Sure, she has a voice, but only a mother would love…to hear exclusively on the radio. I have never, ever in my movie-going experience seen so many fake smiles or so little emotion. Poor Billie (the character) as Carey has played her so…plain…that, quite frankly, I can't see anyone wanting to, or caring if either the character or actress succeeded or not. I knew she would, duh, the movie was as predictable as a Presidential race, but I found how little interest I had in watching her mope her way to the top.Have I failed to mention the incredibly idiotic, bargain-bin music video cinematography and the endless aerial NYC shots? How about the other thoroughly uninteresting stereotypes around her? Well, to sum that last part up, think of every single actor in this film and they fit that bill. I just felt embarrassed for them.Did Carey do this for a self-promotion? Did she think her smile was enough? (Oh, and by the way, she's not pretty. I'll just be mean for a second; she's not attractive nor were those HIDEOUS clothes.) I can barely see a three year old smile her way to warming another person's soul, much less than this wannabe actress do it – what, 87 times in this film? Did anyone watch these scenes while shot or bother to screen the film before it severely flopped at the box office? Seriously, how can one human being sit alone in an isolated screening room, watch this movie from beginning to end and say, "Yep, we done have gold fer this Glitter! Make billions, we sure darn will!" (Please tell me they fired this person, or better yet, let them drive one of the recalled Toyotas around Mulholland Dr. In a rainstorm. At 3AM. Without headlights. Having a seatbelt-less Carey in the passenger seat.) Though it now ranks in my own personal list of worst movies, I wouldn't put it at the top. It's just so incredibly boring, has so little emotion, that whenever a "special Lifetime moment" occurs, I could honestly care less what happened to who. If you can find the "drunk" 5-min Carey clip online when she accepts an award for her superior performance in 2009's Precious, it's more entertaining than the entire 104 minutes of Glitter.Ah heck, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sleaSKmd5Js. If this link is broken in the future, then a quick Google search "Drunk Carey Award" should do the trick. Save yourself the 99 minutes, and watch this instead. You'll get a heck of a lot of more emotion from her in real life than her so-called acting.