Sparkle (2007)

Some films just feel like everyone's going through the motions, with the cast on autopilot and nary a surprise anywhere. Check this one out for starters... the individuals in it feels unfinished, as if the writer started exploring their personalities but gave up halfway through. They behave in very odd ways, with no satisfactory answers given why and no great thought as to their motives. They fall in love at the drop of a hat, are sneaky and devious one minute and yet kind and considerate the next, and OF COURSE there has to be two gay uncles dishing out advice on love. YAWN.And don't get me started on the event which ultimately repairs the relationship between our central duo... it's the first time I've seen a couple overcome the myriad of difficulties they have over a dodgy dance cover sung by the bloke's mother. Who needs a marriage counselor when you've got a middle aged X factor reject? When the pair made them goo-goo eyes at each other over the dance floor while his mummy warbled on, my breakfast almost made an unwelcome reappearance.Still, it's not all bad news. The actors are certainly game, and throw themselves into their parts... as limited as they are. And there is the odd funny line that they manage to squeeze under the radar. It's an inoffensive, relatively harmless way to spend 100 minutes. Just don't go expecting any major insights on love, life or karaoke, or you're likely to be disappointed. Massively. 5/10

I was quite curious about this film, mainly because I've been a big fan of Stockard Channing for a long time. I've always liked her in a any role may it be the First Lady of the United States or a witch or just a small town wife. One of the most underrated actresses of all time. She never disappoints, no matter how dry or imperfect the script or material she is given, she always delivers.Which is pretty much all I can say about this movie.First off, and remember this is all in my own opinion, the lead characters playing Kate and Sam bugged the heck out of me. Sam, the little imp that he is, sleeps his way into Sheila's (Stockard's character, a big PR boss and a very Devil-Wears-Prada-esquire woman with claws to match) bed and company only to meet a young girl his age and later decides to dump his lover-slash-boss. Sheila decides to fire him, knowing she could not possibly still keep him on after their little affair. Along the way in the movie, Sam realizes the girl he's dating, Kate, turns out to be Sheila's daughter.Sam is basically a bit of a cad.Yeah, go figure.And why did Kate bug me? Well, first off, the whole acting wasn't up to par, then again, Sam's wasn't either so moving on. Second, the way she was written, a hardened young-no-daddy-girl-with-too-busy-mommy, was supposed to also be a young activist-esquire girl, protesting to set free some sort of criminal (when scenes without Channing came, I immediately got bored and paid less attention) was played too weak. She went from this tough rebel chic to some bitter, ungrateful (mummy was never around but managed to give her allowance always, typical teen-angst), idiotic girl who lets a boy get the best of her because she later finds out he slept with her mother and lied about it.As far as happy endings go, they're great and swell, but it bugged the heck out of me when she just forgives him, after being given a stolen dolphin, and ride off into the sunset. It's a bit stupid, I have to say, because one: he slept with her mum and two: he lied about it (and three, he slept with her MOTHER--I don't care if he didn't know that prior, but god, can you imagine awkward? I would die).There are a thousand other guys in the world, why would you settle for that? Awkward future ahead.For some sort of activist-esquire type of girl, she sure forgives lying easily. Kate was written too weak, in my opinion.Okay, there, main characters were idiots.Stockard Channing played Sheila perfectly from hard-ass b*tch boss to scorned lover to vulnerable and exposed woman hiding behind a hard mask. She didn't disappoint, along with Anthony Head (who was a delight as Sheila's gay brother) and Bob Hoskins.If you are a Channing fan, worth watching at least, but really, if you're easily annoyed with teen-love gone awry with easy (read: idiotic) fixes, then run. I had fun watching Stockard, but the kids didn't do it for me.Girls, strong headed, level headed ones who easily see through BS might find this annoying, but romantics who love 'grand but small gestures' then you might enjoy. It's pretty basic stuff. Like the graduate, only with sillier kids.Channing fans: watch it, but you might want to fast forward in some areas. She plays her role fabulously, as always.

I thought the plot was somewhat weak and the male character very unlikable. He seemed to be selfish throughout the film and remained so even in the end. I did not find myself cheering for a happy ending. The only character I did like was the struggling mother trying to make it as a singer, but that side story really had no parallels with the main plot. The rest of the story flowed in a very predictable manner and was quite unoriginal. After watching the movie, I felt like I had just wasted my time. I don't recommend watching it unless you have a profound love for British accents and that, that alone would satisfy your time in watching the movie.

Just seen this film on Dublin Film Festival and it's beautiful. OK, I would not call it a masterpiece, there aren't really any deep feelings or thoughts in there, it is just a comedy. But it is so beautifully shot. I happened to see quite a few films recently that aim high but fall flat with their shallow performance, jerky camera movements, etc. This film is a nice break from that. It flows from scene to scene smoothly and naturally. It's like a good music by wind instruments. If everything plays in unison, you can almost physically feel the beauty of the music flow. Same here. Everything fits together so perfectly: camera work, montage, acting.Acting is excellent. Entirely believable and funny. Especially from Amanda Ryan and Shaun Evans. (Uncle Tony was very funny as well.)So, don't expect any incredible depth, but if you want to have a bit of fun (possibly on a date, as there is lots of romance in there as well) then this film is well recommended.