The Whitney Houston Sparkle trailer: 4 talking points

The late R&B supernova's final film performance serves as a tragic reminder of her enormous talent and painful struggles

A newly released "Sparkle" trailer has critics talking about Whitney Houston's final performance, and the movie's glossy makeover from the 1976 original.
(Image credit: Facebook/Sparkle)

The trailer for Whitney Houston's cinematic swan song has arrived. (Watch the video below.) Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 film by the same name, follows three Detroit sisters who form a fast-rising Motown-era singing group, but quickly get swallowed up by drugs, abuse, and other pitfalls of celebrity. Houston, the film's executive producer, plays the girls' mother, a former singer who suffered the same plights. It's the first film in 16 years for the Bodyguard star, who died in February. The original movie starred Irene Cara in the titular role now played by American Idol's Jordin Sparks, spawned several hit singles, and served as the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical-turned-movie Dreamgirls. Sparkle hits theaters August 10. Here, four things critics are buzzing about:

1. Houston gives a "powerful last performance"

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