Movie Scene
At the Movies: 'Glitter'

By Christy Lemire
AP Entertainment Writer

From left, Shawntae Harris, Mariah Carey and Tia Texada in "Glitter." Carey, a hit recording artist, is playing a singer trying to launch a career. The film, originally scheduled to open in April, then moved to August, is finally expected to open in theaters today. Gannett News Service

Let's ignore all that and look at "Glitter" — which hits theaters three weeks later than initially planned because of her breakdown — on its own merits, or lack thereof.

Out of sheer sympathy, it would have been nice to see "Glitter" succeed, simply to provide Carey with some confidence and stability. Instead, it's a preposterous, poorly written love letter to herself.

Starring in a film for the first time, the 31-year-old Grammy winner plays Billie Frank, a young woman who rises from singing backup to selling out Madison Square Garden in a remarkably short period of time.

Here's what we know about Billie: She can sing.

And that's about it.

We know she can sing because people keep telling her how talented she is.

Her friends: "You have an amazing gift. You've gotta use it."

The disc jockey who discovers her: "I ain't never heard anybody like you. You've got something special."

An executive at her new record label: "That's quite a voice you've got."

OK, so we've established that she's extraordinarily talented — so much so that she catapults to stardom, barely suffering a single day.

Her alcoholic mother (Valarie Pettiford), a blues singer who brought Billie on stage as a girl to sing duets, gave her up at age 10 to live in an orphanage after falling asleep with a cigarette and burning down the house. Director Vondie Curtis Hall oversimplifies these bleached-out flashback scenes with the same brisk pacing he uses throughout.

Flash forward to 1983, and Billie is part of a fledgling girl group with her two best friends from childhood, Louise (rapper Da Brat) and Roxanne (Tia Texada).

They sing backup at a New York dance club, where DJ Julian Dice (Max Beesley) realizes that Billie should be singing on her own. He records her, circulates her tape to clubs and record executives, and poof! She instantly has a deal with a major label, where she's greeted with champagne and caviar on her first day.

Billie and Dice fall in love, of course, and the scene in which they have sex for the first time is probably one of the funniest in the whole movie, simply because it plays out so quickly. Billie swears she'll only come up to Dice's loft for three minutes, but he plays a song for her on the marimba, and suddenly they're undressing each other. Oh, it's supposed to be poignant and romantic? Oops.

And the whole turbulent childhood back story seems like an afterthought. It's hard to tell how Billie's abandonment shaped her because screenwriter Kate Lanier has given her so little personality, and she only mentions her mother a couple of times.

There's also a flimsy subplot about Billie's first producer (Terrence Howard) and the money Dice owes him for buying out Billie's contract.

The movie would have been so much more fun — and believable — if Billie had even a couple of diva moments. She merely pouts when she doesn't like the look of her music video, which features muscular guys prancing around her dressed in little more than body paint.

"Glitter" even fails to capture the vibe of the early '80s dance scene, which would have been so easy. It tosses in a couple of songs by Grandmaster Flash and Whodini, and there are a few breakdancers and guys dressed in Adidas warm-ups, but there's no authenticity to the costumes, hair and set design.

Carey says "Glitter" is in no way autobiographical, but the best parts are the ones in which she's singing. This is what she does best. This is what she should stick to — although she's already made a second movie, "Wisegirls," due out next year. Save your money and watch her videos for free on VH1.

A side note: Despite the entertainment industry's attempts to eradicate all images of the World Trade Center from TV and movies after last week's terrorist attacks, "Glitter" includes a couple of shots in which the twin towers are visible in the background. At the screening of this movie at a Times Square multiplex, those images drew the only cheers and applause.

"Glitter," a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG-13 for some sensuality, language and brief violence. Running time: 104 minutes.