History YMMV / Sparkle

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Sparkle's nosebleed towards the end of the 2012 film. [[AssPull It's randomness]] was only used to introduce the gorgeous red dress as seen on the film's movie poster.
* FandomRivalry: Inevitably, there is one between the 2012 version and of the 2006 film version of ''Theatre/{{Dreamgirls}}''. Many fans and critics of both films have called out the former film of being [[TheyCopiedItSoItSucks too similar]] to the latter in spite of the original 1976 film version pre-dating the original ''Dreamgirls'' play by five years. Additionally, it was a sore spot for ''Sparkle'' fans that while their rival received lots of critic and commercial praise and several Oscar nominations, ultimately winning two, their film was mostly ignored and received mixed reviews.[[note]]This is likely for a variety of reasons: aside from the play ''Dreamgirls'' being more well-known than the original ''Sparkle'', other factors that may have lead to its disappointing performance is both the bigger star power in the former film (namely that audiences being more familiar with ''de facto'' star Music/{{Beyonce}} than Jordin Sparks) and the belief that it was wrong to release the film in [[DumpMonths August]] and not sooner after Music/WhitneyHouston's death, especially with it being her final performance[[/note]]
* JerkassWoobie: As poor as the decisions that Sister made in the film (namely choosing Satin over Levi just because the former had more money and was famous), she still was sympathetic due to the hardships in her past and present, the feeling that her own mother had little ambition for her and of course, what her fate ultimately was in both versions; [[spoiler: she died of a drug overdose in the original 1976 version and she ended up in prison for the beating death of Satin while covering for her sister, who was the one who killed him in her defense because he was habitually beating her, including at the time of his death, in the 2012 version.]]

* AcceptableTargets:
** Black People for Satin. He uses them as the butt of his jokes to please his White audience; then he tries it as an attempt to crossover to Black audiences...[[ForegoneConclusion I'm sure you can guess how it turned out.]]
** Fat women are also acceptable targets. Tune Ann was a [[FlatCharacter one-dimensional]] character who was only used to perpetuate stereotypes of them. And yes, this character was [[RefugeInAudacity also in the 1976 film.]]

* ValuesDissonance: The reaction towards Delores' afro, which gained attitudes ranging from shock to even downright disgust, from both White ''and'' Black people. This may have been deliberate.

* TearJerker: Whitney Houston's rendition to "His eye is on the Sparrow", [[AuthorExistenceFailure it even evokes tears/applause knowing it's her very last performance.]]

* {{Narm}}: [[spoiler: Satin's death.]] Aside from the odd, overly dramatic camera angles and the goofy facial expression when it happened, it's hard to feel bad for [[AssholeVictim who it happens to.]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Emma unfortunately comes off as this in the 2012 film. While she is intended to be a strict but concerned single mother of the 1960s who tries to raise her daughters to be successful Christians who don't make the same mistakes she made, she instead comes off as a [[FantasyForbiddingFather strict, hope-dashing]] [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] who doesn't want her daughters to live life outside of her standards.
* ValuesDissonance: The reaction towards Delores' afro, which gained attitudes ranging from shock to even downright disgust, from both White ''and'' Black people.

* AcceptableTargets: Black People to Satin. He uses them as the butt of his jokes to please his White audience; then he tries it as an attempt to crossover to Black audiences...[[ForegoneConclusion I'm sure you can guess how it turned out.]]
** Fat women are also acceptable targets. Tune Ann was [[FlatCharacter one-dimensional]] and was used only to perpetuate stereotypes of fat people/women. And yes, this character was [[RefugeInAudacity also in the 1976 film.]]

* {{Padding}}: The montage of Sparkle sitting in the recording studio waiting for an appointment seems to add nothing to the 2012 film or plot other than to showoff her stylish outfits of the time.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: It would have been a decent plot point to discover what happened to Levi in between Sister dumping him and him heckling Satin at his disastrous stand-up act (where he not only got a nice job, according to his clothing, and a new girlfriend).

* AcceptableTargets: Black People to Satin. He uses them as the butt of his jokes to please his White audience; then he tries it as an attempt to crossover to Black audiences...[[ForegoneConclusion I'm sure you can guess how it tuned out.]]

* SerialNumbersFiledOff: Many has speculated that one of the main reasons that the 2012 film did not do too well at the box-office or with critics, other than the poor timing of its release was that it was a bit too similar to ''Film/{{Dreamgirls}}'', whereas the original 1976 version was almost an entirely different plotline.
* TearJerker: Whitney Houston's rendition to "His eye is on the Sparrow", [[AuthorExistenceFailure it even evokes tears/applause knowing it's her very last performance.]]

* JerkassWoobie: As poor as the decisions that Sister made in the film (namely choosing Satin over Levi just because the former had more money and was famous), she still was sympathetic due to the hardships in her past and present, the feeling that her own mother had little ambition for her and of course, what her fate ultimately was in both versions; [[spoiler: she died of a drug overdose in the 1976 version and she ended up in prison for the beating death of Satin while covering for her sister, who was the one who killed him in her defense because he was habitually beating her, including at the time of his death, in the 2012 version.]]

* Retraux: The original film takes place in 1958, but the actual film was produced in 1976. Though the overall look is very Fifties, there's a great dissonance in the musical aspect of the film since it uses heavy go-go beats from TheSixties, and funky percussion of TheSeventies in a lot of the songs.

** Fat women are also acceptable targets. Tunie Lee White was [[FlatCharacter one-dimensional]] and was used only to perpetuate stereotypes of fat people/women. And yes, this character was [[RefugeInAudacity also in the 1976 film.]]

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: It's been argued that the 2012 Levi (Omari Hardwick) and Satin (Mike Epps) are a lot easier on the eyes than the originals; Dorian Harewood and Tony King respectively. This may teeter on UnfortunateImplications territory.

** Fat women are also acceptable targets. Tunie Lee White was [[FlatCharacter one-dimensional]] and was used onto to perpetuate stereotypes of fat people/women. And yes, this character was [[ValuesDissonance also in the 1976 film.]]

* JerkassWoobie: As poor as the decisions that Sister made in the film (namely choosing Satin over Levi just because the latter had more money and was famous), she still was sympathetic due to the hardships in her past and present, the feeling that her own mother had little ambition for her and of course, what her fate ultimately was (in both versions; [[spoiler: she died of a drug overdose in the 1976 version and she ended up in prison for the beating death of Satin while covering for her sister, who was the one who killed him in her defense because he was habitually beating her, including at the time of his death, in the 2012 version.)]]

* OneSceneWonder: Black

* TearJerker: Whitney Houston's rendition to "His eye is on the Sparrow", [[AuthorExistenceFailure it even evokes applause knowing it's her very last performance.]]

* Retraux: The film takes place in 1958, but the actual film was produced in 1976. Though the overall look is very Fifties, there's a great dissonance in the musical aspect of the film since it uses heavy go-go beats from TheSixties, and funky percussion of TheSeventies in a lot of the songs.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: All UnfortunateImplications aside; one can say that the 2012 Levi (Omari Hardwick) and Satin (Mike Epps) are a lot easier on the eyes than the originals Dorian Harewood and Tony King respectively. Of course, YMMV.

* TearJerker: Whitney Houston's rendition to "His eye is on the Sparrow", [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AuthorExistenceFailure it even evokes applause knowing it's her very last performance.]]