Movie Review: Glitter (2001)

A film by Vondie Curtis-Hall There are some movies you watch because you think it is going to be a good movie and what you know about the movie sounds interesting. There are other movies that you watch simply because of all of the negative press about the movie and you wonder if the film can really be as bad as everyone has said. Glitter falls into the second category of movies. This was Mariah Carey s first starring role (after a small supporting role in The Bachelor ), and both the movie as well her acting were absolutely trashed by critics and Glitter was a box office bomb. Mariah Carey stars as Billie Frank, a rising pop star in the early 80 s. We open the film when Billie is only a child. Her mother is a longue singer (or perhaps, a bar singer) who brings Billie on stage so they can sing together. Her mother seems weary of everything, and when their house burns down (it is implied that the mother is the accidental cause), young Billie is put into foster care. We are flashed forward to the early 80 s and Billie is dancing (with her friends, presumably the two she met in the group home) in a club. She is signed to sing backup for a solo artist, but it is really Billie s voice that is being used to sell the records. This is a rags to riches story where Billie starts out with nothing and with the help of a producer (Max Beesley) who hears Billie sing, ends up to be a star. It mirrors, in a way, the story of Mariah Carey herself. So, is Glitter really as bad as its reputation suggests? No. It couldn t possibly be. Glitter is your average rags to riches film and is simply an average movie. What this movie does is give Mariah a vehicle to show off her singing ability. It s a movie about a singer going from the smalltime to the big time. Glitter seemed to exist more to give Mariah excuse me, Billie another opportunity to sing rather than give the character the chance to grow or develop (and thus give Mariah a chance to show off her acting ability). Glitter is a completely standard, ordinary movie. There are certainly worse movies out there, but then again, there are certainly better movies out there, too. Glitter is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, so I can t recommend it (not even a little bit), but it is also not nearly as bad as has been reported.