Glitter

Mariah Carey, Max Beesley. Mariah's first starring role as a talented young singer who escapes from a dismal life to become a huge star. 2001/color/104 min/PG-13.

Despite box-office failure and the highly publicized fatigue of its star at the time of its fall 2001 release, Glitter is a surprisingly effective vehicle for pop diva Mariah Carey, who will delight her many fans in her appealing screen debut. The standard rags-to-riches plot unfolds with the predictability of falling dominoes, but there's simple, infectious charm in Carey's portrayal of Billie Frank, an urban thrush who's discovered by ace club DJ Dice (Max Beesley) and rises to stadium-filling stardom in the post-disco New York of 1983. One hoary subplot works (Billie's quest for her long-lost mother) and another doesn't (Dice's debt to a threatening rival), while Carey plays a variant of herself with a gentle blend of vulnerability and good-girl fortitude. With a bright supporting cast and a stellar soundtrack, this movie didn't deserve the bad rap it got, and like her determined yet delicate character, Carey emerges unscathed despite considerable odds against her. --Jeff Shannon