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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
near-crap, April 21, 2003
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!)...
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad-But not for the big screen., April 12, 2002
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.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A retread on very familiar territory leaves a lot to be desired., July 17, 2003
I saw this movie about two months after it was first released. I went to a theatre where admission was only $2.00. Lucky considering all the bad reviews I had read. It proved to be as bad as one could expect. It was just a [bad] movie, plain and simple. It was very reminiscent of its more successful predecessors such as "The Rose," "A Star Is Born" and "Mahogany" to name a few. All the positive reviews are no doubt from Mariah's legions of fans (to whom she affectionately refers to as "lambs." Sheep is more like it). Here's a quick rundown of the "plot" for those of you who have yet to see it (don't bother): As a little girl, Mariah's character Billie Frank (said to be tribute to two of Mariah's real-life idols Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra) is turned over to child welfare after her alcoholic and/or drug addicted mother (it never really is specified) nearly gets both of them killed in a house fire. Flash forward about fifteen years later to 1983 where Billie, and her friends since childhood, Louise (Da Brat, who does a wonderful job here as the comedy relief) and Roxanne (Tia Texada) get an offer to sing back up for an attractive, albeit tone-deaf singer named Sylk. It is at Sylk's lyp synched performance to a track featuring Billie's voice that Billie and company meet a DJ named Julian "Dice" Black (Max Beesely, in the only other stand-out role in the film). He sweet talks Billie into letting him produce her. Within a matter of weeks, she with record deal in hand, ends up getting him in the sack. The rest is pretty predictable. Stardom eventually leads to lost friendships, lost love relationships and death. This film (I'm sorry to even admit it) had the potential to be an okay movie. There were certain points where the movie tries to be poignant and touching i.e. like when Billie finds out that Dice has been murdered or when she is finally reunited with her long-lost mother. The sad, but all too obvious fact is Mairah's stiff wooden-like acting and inability to emote onscreen doesn't allow the aforemntioned scenes to have the impact they were intended to. It is also further proof that Mariah should have stuck to singing and that the filmmakers could have casted a more convincing leading lady. The box office failure had little to with the release date. It could have been released in theatres six months prior to September 11th and it, no doubt, would have still earned the same acidic reception and scathing reviews, if not more so. An interesting side note about "Glitter" is the same screenplay writer also wrote the script to the far superior Oscar-nominated Tina Turner biopic "What's Love Got To Do With It." Imagine that.
All in all, the movie was only about a star and a half. It was an overused, poorly constructed formula that seemed to very much be a direct rip off of the three aformentioned films. One review I had read beforehand had described this movie as "The Mariah Carey Vanity Project" and that's EXACTLY what it was. Like it or not, not every entertainer who tries their hand at acting is good at it. In my opinion, the only good singers-turned-actors are: Cher, Bette Midler, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah (R.I.P.), DMX, Busta Rhymes and, even though I hate to admit it, Diana Ross. If you're looking for a great story, then rent "Postcards From the Edge." Its star Meryl Streep is living proof that just because you are good in one realm of the entertainment biz, doesn't mean you automatically HAVE to do the other.
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