Customer Reviews

Glitter [VHS]

5 star:		(132)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(53)

 

 

This movie has an all too familiar theme - ripped right off those first few Elvis Presley movies - which bores you to death. Those first few times were the charm, but the formula quickly staled. Seems every singer that was offered a film role made one of these type movies[or featured/played a similar role as such in TV shows] or willingly cast themselves to play the the self imposed role. Too predictably calculating and we've seen this type movie come along too many times, depending on the decade and its current most popular singer. This type vehicle is not for "actors" nor discovering "acting ability" - its more a stand, pose in an outfit, smile and lipsync your way through the horrible script. The rise and fall of Mariah Carey. "Glitter"s failure marks Carey as a "has been" pop star of yesteryear.

While I enjoy Mariah Carey's music, this move is a trainwreck, only not the kind you can't turn away from. This is easy to walk away from. The movie is uninspired, as is the acting. It boggles the mind what makes pop divas think that because they can sing well, that they can also act. This has only proven true with a few artists, and the others are simply not acting material. Mariah would fall into that category. Her acting lacks emotion and drive, it seems like she is shifting from scene to scene just being there, like scenery. The supporting cast is better, but not much either. The script is a mess too, after a few scenes in the beginning when we see Carey's character being taken away, we're supposed to feel compassion but it doesn't happen. Basically the movie is just to show off Mariah's vocal skills which we already knew she had. Plain and simple. Overall, the acting is horrible, and the movie is boring, stay away from GLITTER.

Since Glitter didn't seem to be anywhere at the local theaters in my area, I can understand why Glitter was considered a box office failure. Honestly, the film was jaded from the beginning. It never really had a chance. I personally had bought the CD that accompanied this video and the CD is probably her best since "Butterfly", but this review is about "Glitter" the movie right? As a fan, its not hard for me to watch Glitter, but I do want to be objective as well. I feel that Glitter wasn't a bad movie. I have defintely seen far worse. I believe this movie was more suited for television or maybe a cable spot, but not big screen theater. The plot of course was somewhat predictable to a certain degree. It just didn't seem made for big screen theater. What people fail to realize is all that Ms. Carey did to get this project off the ground. She did more than just show up and act in this movie. From what I understand she was very instrumental in many aspects of production or direction etc. And I believe that for someone's first big screen movie, for her to have so much input, that is pretty good. Mariah's acting isn't bad either. The acting isn't the problem in this movie, perhaps the subject matter is a little predictable. Due to sooo much publicity things got overblown and the fact that it was Mariah didn't help. Do I recommend renting this movie. Definitely!!!!! Because on TV is where I think best suits a movie of this sort. Its not bad, but not made for the big screen.

Band geeks of the world rejoice! You ARE capable of the art of seduction! "Glitter" proves that it is possible to get a woman into bed by playing a MARIMBA!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!
All kidding aside, this is your basic boy-meets-girl movie. Except it stinks. It stinks A LOT. Mariah's character is named Billie, which I suppose is meant to remind us of Billie Holiday, but fat chance. Last I heard, Billie Holiday didn't have an irritating pig-squealing voice and simpering facial expressions that made me want to hit her with a bat. There is no sympathy to be had for any of these characters or their boo-hoo hard luck stories. Hey "Billie" -- here's a tip: maybe a boyfriend who sulks all the time and wears nothing but black and calls your beloved friends things like "roach bag" isn't much of a boyfriend after all. His getting shot was probably a blessing. Oops! I threw in a little spoiler there. But hey, I will spoil the whole movie for you if it will stop you from watching it, because I care about humanity.

no i'm not a mariah fan and the reason i went to this movie is to get a laugh at mariah after reading the bad reviews from critics but i changed my mind after watching the movie .i really feel sorry for mariah .she's a great actress for her first try i'm sure she'll get some roles in the future.the songs are not that bad maybe it will grow on me more if i see it again.the movie is fun i liked it and her two best firends were hilarious and cool especially louise.

It's kind of ironic that "The Bodyguard" was a box-office hit while "Glitter" was a box-office bomb. Whitney Houston's acting was even more wooden than Mariah Carey's, and comparatively, the story was less believable. And the music in "Bodyguard" was worse.

"Glitter's" story is actually pretty good, if a bit tired. Mariah Carey plays Billie Frank, a beautiful young woman who faces down hard times and despair to become a national singing success in mid-1980's New York. The camera work and pacing is actually pretty good; the movie doesn't drag along excessively. Great performances by Da Brat (who knew!) and Tia Texada as Billie's backup singers and girlfriends keep it real, and Max Beesley puts in a decent performance as Billie's manager / love interest, Dice.

The biggest problem with "Glitter," I think, is that it's Mariah Carey in a starring role. She's trying hard, to be sure, but she's not leading lady material. I think that people love to hate her because of her bigger than life marketing and those sappy songs. That would be a good reason, I guess. (Note to Jennifer Lopez: BEWARE!). It's hard to believe that she could take herself seriously although if you compare what she's made musically to what Elton John or Cher has turned out in the past ten or so years, she's a little less campy by comparison.

There are some funny parts in "Glitter", especially the video shoot and the time she thinks she found her estranged mother and it turns out to be a junkie, but it's sappy and a little contrived and yet strangely earnest. The Muppets probably would done this a little better (Miss Piggy as Billie Frank! Awesome!)...

The movie was never released to cinemas in my country and even being the huge Mariah Carey fan that I am, after reading all the horrible reviews that it got - I was beginning to think that acting shouldn't be Mariah's forte. .. WRONG!!! Just because the media had a field day about it doesn't mean the movie was that bad. In fact, the opposite is correct, the movie was wonderful and Carey is anything but bad in it. The idea of having the 80s theme and the soundtrack to go along with it turned out to be fantastic. The songs, the club scenes, the clothes - they all contribute to having the movie look just as if it was done in the 80s. True, the plot wasn't based on a Stephen King story. But it is so much better than half of the summer movies I've seen in the past couple of years. Mariah is a singer and she excels in playing one (Billie Frank). The rest of the crew did a great job as well. Da Brat & Tia Texada (Playing Billie's childhood friends) mostly helped the funny part of the film, Max Beesley (as Billie's love interest) - the romantic/dramatic part and even gorgeous Eric Benet with a cameo appearance did a fairly nice job. All in all, the movie is short, fun and even has a surprising ending! The music that goes along with it is an extremely big part of it and I feel bad for the reporters who dislike Carey's music and for that chose to dismiss the whole movie. I suggest you give "Glitter" a try and ignore the joke that was made out of it, because it is honestly much better. One last advice, Don't back down Mariah, you have what it takes!

There's a standard joke about movie trailers that nonetheless rings true--if the narrator solemnly begins, "In a world ..." the movie is going to be lousy. When I first saw the trailer for Mariah Carey's "Glitter" and heard those fateful words, the knell of doom sounded in my mind.

Still, when someone offered me a free ticket for a sneak preview I could not resist. If nothing else, it would be good for a few laughs, I thought.

But no. "Glitter" takes itself deadly seriously, as does Mariah, and that turns what could have been a so-bad-it's-funny film into 100 minutes of tedium and eye-rolling.

The plot, as it usually is for recording artists' vanity vehicles, is simple--Mariah plays Billie Frank, a poor kid from the other side of the tracks (alcoholic mother, absent father, blah, blah, blah) who ascends to divahood with the help of her dj/producer (Max Beesley), who then grows jealous of her success. Anyone who has seen "A Star Is Born" (or "One Trick Pony" for that matter) will know exactly how the film turns out. It roughly follows the path of Mariah's own success, complete with mean Tommy Mottola and Brenda K. Starr clones (FYI, Mariah got a start singing backup for Brenda).

What makes the film ultimately ludicrous is that it is purported to take place in the mid-eighties, but the look, slang and fashions are straight outta "TRL," since these days the majority of Mariah's fans weren't even born when Reagan was president. Why this particular time frame was chosen is a mystery. Anyone over the age of 25 who sees this film will have a great deal of fun marveling at what we were supposedly wearing and listening to back then (dreadlocks? rapping? In 1983 we were wearing color-coordinated flouncy miniskirt sets and listening to Duran Duran in the clubs!). And Billie's supposedly self-penned 1983 hit, "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On," was a Robert Palmer song--that came out in 1985! Videos, with the exception of Michael Jackson, were still pretty much straight performance shots, but nope, there Mariah is in a dreamy dance sequence clad in a silver bikini.

This movie misses on so many levels it's amazing. At the sneak preview I attended, there were two girls, around 14 or so, sitting in front of my friend and I. Rabid Mariah fans both, they were bouncing around excitedly when the movie began. By the end, they were sitting in as much of a daze as the rest of the audience. As we filed out, one of them said, "I still love Mariah, but that movie was really bad."

Out of the mouths of babes ...

I am one of the biggest movie freaks in the entire world, I have watched the same movie a billion times practically without getting bored of it. And I had never seen a movie i couldn't sit through without the risk of getting phsically ill- until that is, i saw the disaster that was- Glitter. The acting was so one-dimensional, it was almost painful. The actors weren't engaging and i honestly wouldn't have been surprised if they had been holding the scripts and reading them off to each other-it would have had the same effect. Mariah Carey is without a doubt one of the most talented singers out there today and i think her vocal range is mindblowing- but you don't have to be a "redneck" to see that this movie totally blows. I swear, if she ever makes a movie again, I'm going to move to another country, so I won't even be associated with a country that would actually make a SECOND piece of crap like this

Ok 3 reasons not to see this movie:

(1) Mariah Carey can't act.
(2) The story was written by a monkey with a crayon.
(3) You will want to jump off a building half way through.

I would give this movie 0 stars but that apparently isn't an option. They should of paid people to go see this movie it was so bad.