‘Glitter’ Outshines Standard Diva Fare

“Glitter,” which marks a dynamic feature debut for pop star Mariah Carey, is far from pure gold, but it is not all dross either. It’s a standard show-biz saga, a variation on the tried-and-true “A Star Is Born” theme that plays well under Vondie Curtis-Hall’s direction until a couple of climactic moments draw unintended laughs.

It regains its momentum for a contrived, tie-up-all-loose-ends payoff that only a diva could carry off. But Carey is a diva, no mistake about it, and it’s a safe bet that a goodly share of her legions of fans will love the heart-tugging finish. What’s more, the film has a potent soundtrack, with a vital Terence Blanchard score and lots of new numbers written in part by its star, a strong element of its appeal.

“Glitter” could well be the right movie at the right moment. The film, written by Kate Lanier, who also wrote the screenplay for “What’s Love Got to Do With It?,” is not autobiographical, but its depiction of the vicissitudes of pop superstardom inevitably bring to mind its star’s health problems, giving the film an added emotional charge. Fans, after all, are drawn to sagas of the triumph over adversity on the part of star performers both on life and on the screen.

There’s another factor likely to work in the film’s favor as well: In the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks, “Glitter” is the week’s only major Hollywood release, and it offers considerable escapist entertainment while hitting an affirmative note.

In a striking opening sequence set in the early ‘70s, a stunning but unsteady jazz singer, Lillian Frank (Valarie Pettiford), is playing a small African American neighborhood club, probably in Harlem, when she calls up her little daughter (Isabel Gomes) to come onstage and help her through the number.

The little girl unleashes a formidable voice but cannot save her mother, clearly a hard drinker and apparently on drugs as well, from being fired. On the skids, Lillian is forced to give up her daughter, Billie, to an orphanage. She promises to return, but we know she won’t.

We move forward to 1983, with Billie (Carey) and her friends, backup singers Louise (rapper Da Brat) and Roxanne (Tia Texada), trying to break through to success in the Manhattan disco scene. A young record producer, Timothy Walker (Terrence Howard), signs up the girls to back up his less-than-gifted singer (Padma Lakshmi), going so far as to use Billie’s voice for hers in a recording session.

But Billie’s talent, not to mention her beauty, quickly catches the attention of top-rated disco DJ (Max Beesley), whose dream is to become a film composer and who accepts Walker’s outrageous demand of $100,000 to buy out Billie’s recording contract.

Under Dice’s guidance, Billie’s star starts to rise and they start falling in love. But soon Dice is way over his head in trying to steer her career. Their sensitivity, mutual devotion, creativity and love for each other are put to an increasingly severe test, and when the fireworks occur, they play out in a trite way that makes Dice look needlessly foolish despite Beesley’s best efforts.

Luckily, Carey proves to be a capable actress, conveying an essential demureness and modesty that makes Billie appealing, offering an effective contrast to her blazing talent and sexuality. Billie is simply a very nice girl, coping the best she can and ever haunted by the memory of the mother who deserted her. .

Lanier and Hall unfortunately never quite resolve the question of how Dice could benonchalant about his debt to Walker, and this lack of resolution plays out awkwardly.

“Glitter” is a handsome production, unself-consciously evocative of its era in settings and costumes. It is resourcefully shot, and locales are kept to a minimum without the film’s seeming chintzy.

Carey looks great and, starting with Pettiford, a memorable Julie in the recent “Show Boat” revival, and Beesley, she’s been surrounded by a strong cast that includes Dorian Harewood and Grant Nickalls as powerful record producers and Ann Magnuson, who contributes a welcome amusing note as an overbearing control-freak publicist.

Da Brat and Texada also lend warmth, humor and energy, and Eric Benet has plenty of presence as the handsome performer who looks to be a potential partner professionally and otherwise in Billie’s life if Dice doesn’t shape up.

“Glitter” could have set its sights higher or at least could have been more even in tone, but there’s no denying that the material fits Mariah Carey like one of her skin-tight gowns. MPAA rating: PG-13, for some sensuality, language and brief violence. Times guidelines: suitable for mature older children.

‘Glitter’

Mariah Carey: Billie Frank

Max Beesley: Julian Dice

Da Brat: Louise

Tia Texada: Roxanne

A 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures presentation of a Maroon Entertainment production in association with Laurence Mark Productions. Director Vondie Curtis-Hall. Producer Laurence Mark. Executive producer Mariah Carey. Screenplay by Kate Lanier; from a story by Cheryl L. West. Cinematographer Geoffrey Simpson. Editor Jeff Freeman. Music Terence Blanchard. Costumes Joseph G. Aulisi. Production designer Dan Bishop. Art director Peter Grundy. Set decorator Cal Loucks. Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes.

In general release.