Tika Sumpter, Carmen Ejogo and Jordin Sparks as singing siblings in “Sparkle.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.
BY DARALYN JAY
CANDY may not exactly be good for you, but it sure tastes good going down.
In comparison to the grittier 1976 original, the big-budget, major studio remake of “Sparkle,” which follows the lives and career of Sparkle Williams and her sisters, is sanitized, sweetened and packaged in a sleek wrapper.
Character details and plot lines have been significantly altered – some effectively updating the story for a millennial audience (the title character is now the writer of the songs that she and her sisters perform). Others may be filed under “creative license” (the time and place have been changed from Harlem 1958 to Detroit 1968, for starters). The film opens nationwide today.
The differences are too numerous to name in this space, and the exercise would be pointless: “Sparkle” is an entertaining confection that stands on its own merits. Part-melodrama, part-musical, part-“Mad Men”-era fashion show, “Sparkle” manages to counter its clichés with swift pacing and solid acting, including a star-making turn by “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks as Sparkle.
Whitney Houston as a very protective stage mother in "Sparkle."
Her performance as a teenage singer/songwriter on the verge of womanhood is charming and naturalistic, and she has musical chops to spare. Carmen Ejogo delivers as her sultry oldest sibling, Sister, portraying the character’s downward spiral with equal skill.
In what would have been her acting comeback, Whitney Houston brings humor and believability to the role of Emma, the girls’ mother. Here, she is reworked as a strict, overprotective parent who incredibly remains unaware of her daughters’ late-night meanderings. The scenes in which she references her troubled past are affecting and evoke pathos when viewed through the filter of the late singer’s drug-related demise.
The Williams sisters – Delores, Sparkle and Sister – hope their singing talents can lift them above their station in "Sparkle."
Director Salim Akil and screenwriter Mara Brock Akil have added nuanced moments to what is essentially a formulaic story, particularly in developing the subtext for the troubled relationship between Emma and her daughters. However, the ending feels contrived and leaves the audience to ponder such inconsistencies as how Sparkle could afford an apartment and a cover girl-worthy wardrobe on an entry-level worker’s salary. The same goes for how middle sister, Dolores (Tika Sumpter), can seemingly move on after the tragedy that occurs late in the movie with barely a blink of her false eyelashes. Domestic abuse and race riots are frequently glossed over or treated as a joke.
Nevertheless, all is forgiven after the stirring ending performance by JS.
One could look and touch. Photos courtesy of Chantelle.
THE atmosphere was fun, festive and friendly at its Madison Avenue showroom last week when French lingerie line Chantelle Paris invited the press to view its Fall 2012 collection.
The tone was set by a scrumptious crudite and Marquis de la Tour Brut Rosé to wash it down with or to savor with macaroons from Ladurée while guests took in the collection as they would art in a museum or gallery.
Lending a salon feel to the proceedings, a professional was on hand to attend any and all who wanted to know her correct bra size. Above all, Chantelle wants a woman to have the right fit because that is what really makes her beautiful and by extension, its delicate but sturdy undergarments.
Decisions, decisions.
The Fall 2012 collection takes as a reference point cornerstones of both high-end jewelry and high-end lingerie. At Chantelle this includes refinement, elegance, attention to detail and craftsmanship. Craft is palpable in virtually every piece. Embroidery is almost omnipresent – on tulle, on knit, on lace. The resulting images are motifs and tableaux that evoke fireworks, pearls, a bridge and so on.
She cannot believe her eyes.
Many ensembles have names taken from Parisian landmarks. Embroidery on Icone 3850 is evocative of butterfly wings. It is so detailed that it boggles the mind as to how such intricacy can be applied to such dainty fabric. Every stitch in the collection bears an accent that enhances without seeming overmuch – bows on bra straps, gemstones at the bodice, pleats on waistbands of panties. Case in point is Pont des Arts 3940. The design is patterned after the Parisian foot bridge of the same name and also resembles an architect's rendering of an ancient city.
Amongst all of this beauty if there is an ugly ducking, it is Hedona 2030. Though well-designed and functional, it seems rather too subdued – dare I say blah – in an animated line. On lingerie the plaid is lost in translation.
Bra specs are important matters.
Another spot of bother is the very element that drives the collection – embellishment. It can also be a little impractical for some tastes and lifestyles. Chantelle is keenly aware. Lines sold in the United States have less augmentation than those sold in France. Perhaps even less is in order. U. S. women who want to throw on a simple matching bra and panties may be put off by frou-frou. Others may deem undergarments with a chevron motif (Saint Honore 1980) too fine to wear under jeans and a T-shirt or sweats. Further, wearer beware of an unsightly silhouette if the imprint of your Calais lace (Eternelle 3620) is visible under that razor-thin silk blouse. Caveats, notwithstanding, Chantelle executes its vision admirably.
Guess why these women are smiling.
In revealing its fall line in August, the lingerie maker joined the increasing number of brands (Gap, Ippolita and TSOVET are recent examples) that is beginning to display its wares days and weeks before they hit stores rather than months. Or they are doing both. (Chantelle put out an edited version of its Spring 2013 collection). It is a welcome trend. Chantelle for fall is already in Bloomingdale’s, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and JCPenney and other places that carry the line “if they have taken them out of the boxes,” one marketing rep said.
Chantelle party guests will be eagerly awaiting boxes in the post. All who got measured for a bra could avail themselves of a bra-panty set from the line.
Guacamole gets another flavor profile with the addition of Haleakala Ruby. Photos courtesy of The Meadow.
RED Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt is the traditional and authentic seasoning for native Hawaiian dishes such as Kalua Pig, Poke and Hawaiian Jerky.
True. But it is so much more than that!
Extracted from the unspoiled waters of the Hawaiian island, Molokai, the red salt is not processed like regular table salt, though Hawaiians use it as a table salt. Traditionally, Hawaiians also use Alaea salt in healing rituals. That is not so surprising. But it is also used to cleanse, purify and bless tools and canoes. That, is surprising.
Haleakala Ruby Alaea Sea Salt gets its color from volcanic clay.
The salt, which gets it red color from Alaea volcanic clay, is rich in minerals and iron.
The red salt enhances both savory and desserts. It really likes all kind of seafood, including sushi, sashimi and grilled fish. Use it in soups and with bread and butter. It also adds something special to plantains and fruit salads.
Haleakala Ruby atop mango is not just a garnish.
The red salt is available at Amazon.com from the Old Hawaiian Sea Salt Co. http://www.amzn.to/NVfP2P. The Meadow stocks it as Haleakala Ruby Coarse Hawaiian Alaea Salt in both its New York and Portland, Oregon stores; it can also be purchased at its online store at http://www.bit.ly/Ne7Ehr
In a delicious discovery The Meadow has found that the red salt does wonderful things in guacamole. And mango sorbet, too.
Where Restaurant Week Ends, NYC Go Prix Fixe Begins
WAS there any doubt that NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2012 would be extended?
The surprise would have been in it ending as originally scheduled on Friday (10 Aug). The extension started Monday and runs through 3 Sept.
In a slight twist, NYC & Company, the outfit that runs Restaurant Week, has christened the extension NYC Go Prix Fixe rather than simply announcing that the promotion continues with the norm of fewer restaurants taking part. “NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2012 has ended but you can still enjoy three-course prix-fixe dining at some of the City’s best restaurants,” visitors to its Web site will learn.
The Slow-baked Atlantic merlu, Fricassée of market beans, Tomato-fennel sauce and "Vierge," crispy shallots that Bar Boulud was plating for Restaurant Week will be served during NYC Go Prix Fixe. Ditto for Mesa Grill’s succulent Wild stripped bass w/roasted corn sauce, Jalapeno pesto and Charred corn-tomato salsa. And the Mixed berry pavlova w/Mint cream and Crisp ginger meringue at Red Rooster Harlem.
NYC Go Prix Fixe operates just like Restaurant Week, including pricing structure and blackout days. In fact, restaurants are repurposing Restaurant Week menus. (It’s better for the environment and their bottom lines, no?). The only difference is in name (of promotion) and number (of restaurants).
CASIO pulled out a lot of stops Thursday night, including mounds of dough, word has it, to lure unofficial brand ambassador Eminem away from his sabbatical to perform at the party celebrating the 30th anniversary of its G-Shock watch line.
Before Em brought it at the Manhattan Center in New York he thanked the amped-up crowd for coming out to see him. “… I wouldna gotten to no place without y’all,’’ he half mumbled before jumping off with “Not Afraid.” The crowd was very appreciative.
Casio G-Shock has a lot to celebrate. In fact, last week’s party was just one of a number leading up to its 30th year in the trade, which is actually next year. That’s right, get the party started early! In the last decade or so as increasing numbers of hip hop artists (and their fans) have been sporting G-Shock watches and extolling them in song – attracted by their durability, simplicity, utility and air of authenticity – sales have taken off in this submarket.
Unlike some companies, Casio G-Shock embraced this market with open arms, creating designs that appeal to its core brashness and bravado. Always, though, while adhering to engineering best practices. Even the bejeweled models are designed to absorb some big shocks. Other hip hop artists Casio G-Shock has collaborated with are REDMAN, P Diddy, N*E*R*D and Kanye West. The brand also deals with all manner of athletes, including skateboarders and surfers. Future collaborations and new additions are in the works.
The wrist of Eminem is adorned with a G-Shock watch in his "Spellbound" video. Photo courtesy of Eminem G-Shock.
Em began wearing the G-Shock in videos (“Spacebound” and “Lighters,” for instance). Model No. DW6900NB-7 showed so often it became known as the Eminem G-Shock.
While Em and energetic opening act Slaughterhouse were performing at the G-Shock 30th Anniversary party, several boldfaces were hanging out in the VIP section munching, drinking from the bottomless premium open bar and engaging in general jollification. Who was there? Ice-T, wife, Coco, Tinsley Mortimer, Steve Baldwin and youthful-looking skateboarder, marketing consultant and author Alex Corporan.
Em closed out his set with an encore of the smash, “Lose Yourself,” from “8 Mile,” the film that guaranteed he would be given a constellation in the hip hop universe.(See video above provided by illHype.com).
Good for Em, good for Casio G-Shock.
Visit http://www.gshock.com/ to learn more about Casio G-Shock.
Big Time: Make Room for TW Steel's Kelly Rowland CEO Tech Kelly Rowland shows off her pinky at a TW Steel watch launch. Photo courtesy of TW Steel.
IN other celebrity watch news, the Kelly Rowland CEO Tech is in stores now.
The timekeeper that the Destiny's Child member co-designed with TW Steel launched globally at a smashing party in New York at the top of the Standard Hotel (formerly known at The Boom Boom Room). The night was electric. Causing some of the sparks was Kelly Rowland, herself. Another instigator was a fireworks display commanded by TW Steel CEO Jordy Cobelens, a tribute to KR who is the brand’s global ambassador.
The Kelly Rowland CEO Tech with blue band. Photo courtesy of TW Steel.
Available with a pink or blue band – KR’s major contribution to the design aesthetic – and the familiar TW Steel big face, the CEO Tech retails for $1295. Sorry guys, this watch is for ladies only.
Other specs of the CEO Tech: 0S25 Miyota chronograph movement, 10 ATM water resistant and sandblasted case with gold plating. Embellishments include a sapphire crystal and 56 pink or blue zirconia baguettes on bezel.
Extra special is KR’s signature on the case back.
Visit http://www.twsteel.com/ to learn more about the Kelly Rowland CEO Tech and other styles.
Alternance 10 (A10) Caliber Is a Transformer for Perrelet Perrelet’s 11½” movement Alternance 10 (A10) caliber watch is the first of many of its kind that the company will produce. Photo courtesy of Perrelet.
WITH the introduction of the Alternance 10 (A10) caliber, Perrelet gains more leverage.
The Swiss company, part of Spanish-owned The Festina Group, announced last week that the A10 caliber is the first watch in its 200-plus year history to be equipped with movements that were produced solely in-house. This achievement has numerous implications.
For instance, higher quality watches produced more quickly and efficiently; more innovation and creativity; lower production and transportation costs; fewer cost overruns; greater profits and perhaps even cost-savings for the consumer. Sounds like a good thing.
“Today more than ever, having in house means of developing and producing horological specialties represents a great opportunity,” The Festina Group CEO Fausto Salvi fairly gushes in a press release. “Production autonomy is an extremely important issue and an aspect that enables us to remain in the avant-garde of our field."
The A10 caliber has convenient features such as large dates, power reserve and 24-hour indicator. Photo courtesy of Perrelet.
In reaching this milestone, Perrelet joins an exclusive club whose members include Audemars Piguet.
Not surprisingly, the men’s timepiece has some pretty impressive features, including Perrelet's signature double rotor modules. It is also equipped with automatic 11½” movement (28,800 vph), three hands plus date and three hands with visible balance, as well as chronograph and small seconds. All A10 models rolling out this year will have movements produced in-house. Eventually, this will apply to all non10-caliber models.
The A10 caliber, which will be available at authorized retailers next month, will come with a black dial and a blue dial. It has not yet been priced.
Visit http://www.perrelet.com/ to learn more about the Perrelet Alternance 10 (A10) caliber and other models.
Gabby Douglas appears solo on the front of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal box, as well as with her U.S. Olympic Fierce Five teammates. Photo courtesy of Kellogg's.
UNDOUBTEDLY, for most Americans one of the highlights of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas’ gold medal wins, particularly in the all-around gymnastics competition.
Many have remarked that she’s the first black to win the all-around. Is it really so exceptional? Not really. GD's achievement is extraordinary because she's an extraordinary gymnast, not because she is black. She achieved nothing that other black girls potentially can not if they put in the time, effort and make the other necessary sacrifices. After all, blacks do not have a genetic defect that has made it impossible for them to win gold medals in the all-around. The defect lies in the paucity of blacks in the sport.
Logically, the greater the number of black gymnasts, the greater the likelihood of black gold medal gymnasts. To put a fine point on it, blacks have been MIA in the medal count, not because they lack the ability to win them but because they are grossly under-represented in the sport.
Anyway, Yours Truly will always remember GD’s accomplishment because it happened on 2 Aug., a very special day on my calendar. (See video below from Team USA of GB’s routines from the Olympic trials ).
Alexandr Vinokourov crossing the finish line after the men's road cycling race. Photo courtesy of AP.
With the Olympics coming to an end today, I am already growing nostalgic. Other personal highlights are Serena Williams crushing Maria Sharapova to take the gold medal in singles tennis, then winning another gold with sister, Venus, in doubles for the third-consecutive Olympics. It was gratifying to witness 38-year-old Kazakh Alexandr Vinokourov – a retiree after the Games and dismissed as an also-ran – take the Olympic gold in the men’s road cycling race. Ditto for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, like the Williams sisters, doing a threepeat in their sport, beach volleyball.
One of the most incredible stories of the Games has been that of South African track star Oscar Pistorius. He became the first double-amputee to compete in the Games when he ran on prosthetic legs in the first heat of the men’s 400-meter race. While he made the semifinals, he did not qualify for the finals. Notwithstanding that result, his achievement is no less remarkable. His example can potentially inspire amputees everywhere, particularly young men and women who serve their countries and return home broken in both mind and body.
Of all the wonderful stories from these Games, GD's will be with me for some time, not only because of the date it took place but also because of the massively unnecessary bimbo interruptions. Seriously, folks? I won’t belabor the issue. No doubt, everyone has heard, unless s/he has been buried deep under a rock. Of course, it is all nonsense and born of envy, self-hatred, sheer stupidity and a need for intensive psycho-analysis. VEVLYN’S PEN writer at-large Daralyn Jay put it nicely, “Gabby needs to go on national TV and tell all the hair-haters to kiss her gold medals!”
Gabby can do much more than give her detractors a piece of her mind. Sponsors such as P&G and Kellogg’s are lining up to give the young Virginian sky, moon and stars. She looks like a million bucks on the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal box and she will be performing many dates during the 2012 Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions starting next month. With the Games behind her, GB's next big trial is getting her driver’s license. Reportedly, she wants an Acura NSX Roadster — "just like the one in 'The Avengers'." Will Acura soon be knocking at her door?
Indeed, Gabby can do much more to answer her critics. She can take that gazillion-dollar smile straight to the bank. Truly ... success is the best revenge.
THE scuttlebutt is that Lillias White blew the roof off the mother in previews of “Big Maybelle: Soul of The Blues.”
Pray tell, what is to happen this very evening when the Tony winner (“The Life”) steps up to the mic as Maybelle Smith at the musical's opening night gala? Are workmen at this very moment battening down the hatches at Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre, the site of this potentially momentous occasion? The show runs through 2 Sept. and there is talk about a New York City debut in the winter.
“Big Maybelle” chronicles the hard life and good music of the R&B singer-pianist born in Jackson, Tennessee as Mabel Louise Smith. She enjoyed too-brief success – dying in a diabetic coma in 1972 – during the ’50s and ‘60s. MS was given the nickname Big Maybelle in part because she was stout, as they said back then.
Lillias White belts them out as Big Maybelle in “Big Maybelle: Soul of The Blues.” Photo by Jerry Lamonica.
Written and directed by Paul Levine, “Big Maybelle” features 31 blues songs from the last five decades, including “Candy” (1956), one of MS's biggest hits. The song received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. Also on the "Big Maybelle" playlist are songs from “The Okeh Sessions,” which the Blues Hall of Fame (2011) singer recorded between 1952 and 1955. The “Sessions” album won the 1983 W. C. Handy Award for Vintage or Reissue Album of the Year. (See video of MS singing “I Ain’t Mad at You" above; click on link to hear MS singing “Candy, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKNIbNADr-o&feature=related)
A bit of trivia: In 1955, MS recorded "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On," two years before Jerry Lee Lewis' career-making cover of the song. MS’s version was produced by a fellow named Quincy Jones. Few people outside of QJ and say, Aretha Franklin, are aware that MS is known as “America’s Queen Mother of Soul.”
It seems that LW is doing the Queen Mother proud.
Visit http://www.baystreet.org/ to learn more about “BIG MAYBELLE: Soul of the Blues.”
ONE of Brooklyn’s greatest ambassadors is none other than Spike Lee. The director, writer, actor and sometime-activist loves the borough that some refer to as “God’s Country.”
Despite his fame and fortune, SL is still holding it down in the country. This extends to his films, too, in particular a series dubbed the “Chronicles of Brooklyn.” It started with “She’s Gotta Have It” and the culture-transforming “Do the Right Thing.” The last film in the series was “He Got Game.” The latest is “Red Hook Summer,” which SL wrote and directed. It opens in limited release today. (See video above).
Despite some subject matter that put it in danger of an NC-17 rating, “Red Hook Summer” is essentially a coming-of-age film. In a geographic reversal, 13-year-old Flik Royale (Jules Brown) is planted in New York where he is to meet for the first time and live with his paternal grandfather, Bishop Enoch Rouse (Clarke Peters). Poor Flik can’t catch a break.
On the one hand, his massively religious grandfather is trying to convert him. On the otherhand, this middle-class Atlanta boy is learning – sometimes the hard way – about life in the big city. In the projects … It’s hard out here for an imp!
'Tis always refreshing to see any ethnic group portrayed in various degrees of its complexity. In his 20-plus-year career behind (and sometimes in front of) the camera, SL has never strayed from examining black folk in our numerous shades of gray. Keep doing the right thing, Spike.
“Red Hook Summer” is rated R for brief violence, language and a disturbing situation.
Also opening today, nationwide, is another film in the “Bourne” franchise.
Don’t expect to see Matt Damon, though. He begged off starring in the fourth installment of the successful films flimsily based on Robert Ludlum’s spy novel. Horrors! One can just see the suits at Universal Pictures sitting around a conference table twiddling fingers and fondling Blackberrys, i-’s and other smart phones trying to figure out how to keep milking this cash cow.
Eureka! In a clever bit of marketing, they cheekily tell the moviegoing public that there was never just one Bourne, in a story extrapolated by Tony Gilroy who also directs. Apparently, Bournes or Bourne types are as potentially numerous as the Borg. Well, goodbye Jason Bourne aka Matt Damon and hello Aaron Cross aka Jeremy Renner.
Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is a wanted and haunted man in "The Bourne Legacy." Photo by Mary Cybulski for Universal Studios.
Not surprisingly, there is lots of action. Fasten your seatbelts to avoid whiplash; it’s a bumpy ride. No need to know the synopsis beyond the fact that Aaron has gone rogue and must be restrained by any means necessary. On either side of the misunderstood agent are new and returning faces in the guise of Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney, Joan Allen and Scott Glenn.
All the A-list star power notwithstanding, this is JR’s film. But can he make it his own as did his predecessor? No doubt, viewers will decide.
“The Bourne Legacy is rated PG-13 for violence and action sequences.
Tika Sumpter, Carmen Ejogo and Jordin Sparks as singing siblings in “Sparkle.” Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Whitney Houston as a very protective stage mother in "Sparkle."
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