| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Stockard Channing | ... | ||
| Shaun Evans | ... | ||
| Anthony Head | ... | ||
| Bob Hoskins | ... | ||
| Lesley Manville | ... | ||
| Amanda Ryan | ... | ||
| John Shrapnel | ... | ||
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Peter Gordon | ... | |
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Lorenzo Martelli | ... |
Rooftop party man
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Roy Carruthers | ... | |
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Sophia Dawnay | ... | |
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Ellie Haddington | ... | |
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David Woodcock | ... | |
| Omar Berdouni | ... | ||
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Richard Cant | ... | |
From the directors of Lawless Heart comes SPARKLE, a hilarious and heart-warming comedy about life, love, and getting ahead in the twenty-first century. Sam Sparkes (Shaun Evans) is a 22 year old with ambitions: move to London and join the glamorous PR world. When Vince (Bob Hoskins) hires Sam as a waiter, he meets his soon-to-be PR boss, Sheila (Stockard Channing). Sensing opportunity, Sam charms himself a job as Sheila's PA...and her lover. But when Sam falls for Kate (Amanda Ryan), he instigates a series of family betrayals and romantic mishaps. As balancing his job and love life becomes overwhelming, unexpected twists and uncovered secrets force Sam to choose between his career and the woman of his dreams. Written by Revolver
Not as good as the writers'/directors' previous effort, LAWLESS HEART, despite an array of fine actors. I think the problem lies in the limited range of the male lead. Scenes between everyone else work well enough, but his cheeky-chap persona grates after a while. This is more of a criticism of the script than of the actor. When we finally see his vulnerable side, it's too late for the rom-com ending.
The relationship between the characters also seems too conveniently close-knit to convince. Sure, by definition every work of fiction is artificial, a fabrication. There was a central idea in LAWLESS HEART - a bereavement - that bound the whole thing together. Here, unfortunately, the inter-connections seem worthier of a novel than a movie.
Bob Hoskins is particularly endearing in SPARKLE, so fans of his should see the movie if they can. Otherwise, in spite of reliable performances from reliable performers, this feels like a rather half-hearted attempt at a feelgood movie.