Sparkler (1997) starring Park Overall, Veronica Cartwright, Don Harvey, Jamie Kennedy, Steven Petrarca, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sandy Martin directed by Darren Stein Movie Review

Sparkler (1997)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Park Overall in Sparkler (1997)

No Shine At All

There are not many movies which I have switched off or walked out on, in fact I can count them on one hand but "Sparkler" almost added to that low number. It's not that there is anything repulsive about it or so bad that it is unwatchable but it is so unengaging that it is an almighty struggle to stay interested in it.

After discovering her bloke banging her best friend Melba May (Park Overall - Taming Andrew) walks out and after calling a telephone psychic she is told to watch out for three kings. So when friends Brad, Joel and Trent show up at a local bar she ends up following these three city kings to Vegas a journey which takes in strip clubs and lesbians.

Let me tell you what I think "Sparkler" is, it is a lot of ideas for scenes, from a scene featuring a butch lesbian to another featuring a trailer trash husband walking around in his underwear outside where the garden is full of junk. But whilst "Sparkler" has a lot of ideas it never comes together in a coherent way making it hard to become engaged with or at least enough to keep you wanting to watch to the end. This problem is exasperated by what despite some recognizable names seems a low budget production which looks every ounce a movie made on a tight budget. It means at times the whole thing seems very awkward which may have been intentional but alienated me.

The most surprising thing about "Sparkler" is the number of recognizable faces who crop up beyond the main stars of Park Overall, Veronica Cartwright, Jamie Kennedy and Freddie Prinze Jr. as all of sudden you see the likes of Jack Wallace and Frances Bay. Although to be honest no one in this movie puts in an amazing performance but that is down to the lack of detail to the writing of the characters which seems to have just served up some stereotypes.

What this all boils down to is that "Sparkler" really didn't do it for me and was a struggle from beginning to end to keep watching. Maybe for those who find anything in the slightest bit indie entertaining will be amused by this but for anyone else it will be hard work.


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