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ChristianIrizarry
Reviews
Sparkle (1976)
An innocent, classic musical film that inspires!
I was 5 years old when I saw this musical movie while on vacation with my family in St. Thomas in 1977 and immediately fell in love with it. 27 years later, it is still an original inspiration for achieveing my goals that I have set to accomplish since that time!
This tragic story of a hard-core "behind the scenes" of the entertainment industry during the late 50's, "Sparkle" successfully portrays the struggle of three young sisters looking for their place in the sun. This story could simply become the biographical story of many young aspiring artists about what could materialize when things seem to happen too fast and role models are not available to lend a helping hand.
The phenomenal music written and composed by Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield, the soundtrack carries the plot with every song. From being subjected to situations that almost leave no choice for strong long-term decision-making, to making the ultimate sacrifice in order to get ahead, all three young girls, Sparkle, Sister, and Delores, represent the different routes that one could take when you set out to achieve your ideal opportunity as your contribution to society.
This movie could have possibly spawned the ideas of creating "Dreamgirls" on Broadway, and Mariah Carey's "Glitter," 25 years later. As an original audience member of both productions, I have seen a lot of similarities in both stories to "Sparkle," as well as in "Saturday Night Fever," "Fame," "Flashdance," and the off-Broadway smash hit "Mama, I Want To Sing."
Chicago (2002)
Chicago LIVES in New York City
WOW!!! My viewings: Twice during opening weekend! (I could not believe what I was seeing!) Three times during the second weekend!!! (I had to bring friends and family!) And PLENTY more times ahead!!! This summarizes how many times I have seen this movie and how many more times I intend to see it! As an avid lover of the revival of the Broadway musical, "Chicago," which I have seen seven times to date, the movie gave me an original experience altogether!!! I felt as if I was seeing an entirely different movie without knowing anything about the story at all! ELECTRIFYING!!! Proud of the fact that I saw the live performances of many of the original cast members in the Broadway revival, it was very exciting to see how many of them were on the screen! That just added to the credibility of this highly-anticipated film of 2002 since 1996's "Evita!" I have not had this much fun at the movies since "Grease" in 1978 at the age of six!
GOD BLESS FRED EBB AND JOHN KANDER for a phenomenon that has just become a legend in its own time!!! This movie will reach out and grab generations upon generations to come, as "Grease" continues to do in this lifetime!
For those of us lucky enough to have seen the revival, do not think that this is in anyway the same thing, you are going to come to the table for the first time with this delightful buffet of musical theatre! For those that have not seen the Broadway revival, I have had two instances of "A Day of 'Chicago'" by coming out of the movie to get to the musical on Broadway! I cannot get enough of it!!!
I could not think of a better place to see this movie than at the rich-in-theatrical-history Ziegfeld Theatre on 54th Street in New York City! Of course, the enthusiasm of the audience members of EVERY showing have equalled the amounts of audience enthusiasm at the Shubert Theatre eleven blocks away! If you are in NYC, get to the Ziegfeld!!! The music comes to life and the story seduces you to no end!!! The soundtrack is an excellent way to begin and end the evening as you psych yourself out to indulge in what film and Broadway are all about, GENUINE TALENT AND ENTERTAINMENT!!!
Queer as Folk (2000)
Typical Stereotypes of Gay people in America
It never fails that when Hollywood, or just about any of the main stream entertainment powers-that-be, sit down to write something to try exposing America to gay people, they always exaggerate!!! For those of us that know better, such as authentic native New Yorkers and the natives of bigger cities as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami, and even as far out as London, England, where conservative is just not "in," this show sheds very little light on gay life. When middle America sit down on Sunday night, to sneak a peek at "Queer as Folk" to see how "the alternative half" lives, this is what they get. This upsets me to see how gay people are depicted nationally. They only drench our television and silver screens with images of gay people as being cocky, sex-crazed, drug and alcohol addictive party animals, and almost irresponsible! However, that does not seem to be the case with the "overly productive, spiritually conscious" lesbians who seem to be the only ones to maintain honorable professions and an adopting family. This leads me to believe that, after all is said and done, we have to make sure the show is worth-while for the straight Man in America to watch!!! Yes, the drama and cat-scratching are very common amongst the gay community as well as it is with women! All that aside, unless you are in your early 20's or just coming out of the closet, or you have just divorced your wife to be with a man, 9 out of 10 incidents that occur in this show are consistent sell-out stereotypes contributing to the misrepresentation of gay people in America! The British version is a lot more credible! "Will & Grace" is, by far, a much lighter and a more comical reflection of the ways in which straight, gay, and bisexual people live!