Film Reviews

Glitter

• Director: Vondie Curtis Hall.
• Starring: Mariah Carey, Max Beesley, Da Brat, Tia Texada, Valerie Pettiford, Isabel Gomes.
• Details: US / 104 mins / (12PG).

Abysmal Mariah Carey vehicle (as in tricycle) where the troubled diva rises from being a homeless street urchin into one of New York's most sought after performers. The story, in so much as there actually is one, strictly adheres to the conventions of the genre. Mariah plays Billie Frank, a young aspiring singer songwriter who is plucked from obscurity by an unscrupulous manager, Timothy Walker (Terrence Howard). Although he messes her about a bit, Billie, through her single-mined determination and copious amounts of talent, manages to rise above and survive. Jesus wept. And so will anyone of a sane disposition who ventures to see this movie. Bereft of anything that usually makes a good motion picture (decent acting, a good plot, competent direction) Glitter is a shambles of film, serving only to inflate Carey's ego. Yes, it's that bad.

Review by Garreth Murphy