Movie Preview: 'Sparkle' (2 Stars)

DETROIT FREE PRESS
By Susan Wloszczyna

Whitney Houston, whose lifelong obsession with the original "Sparkle"
helped lead to the remake, stars as Emma. / Free Press file photo

Back in 1976, when Whitney Houston was a New Jersey schoolgirl on the brink of adolescence, she fell in love at first sight. Not with a boy. But with a movie. Its title? "Sparkle," a low-budget drama about three singing sisters in late-'50s Harlem as they strive for fame and face family hardships. A cult classic and an inspiration for "Dreamgirls," it was a rare film about strong black women that stood apart from the era's blaxploitation flicks. Sadly, fans were forced to let go of Houston when she died Feb. 11 at age 48, just months after she finished her labor of love — one that took a decade to become a reality and will open Aug. 17. [link]