Well first of all I have to say I mainly rented this since I found out that Jamie Kennedy was in it, and I didn't think it'd be that good because well I was only 13-years-old thinking this would be boring. I was wrong though and this turned out to be my favorite independent film by far... It starts off with A 30-something trailer-park lady Melba May (Park Overall)who finds her husband cheating on her with a friend and she soon goes out for the night to "celebrate her freedom". Before she goes to a nearby diner, the calls a psychic who tells her that she will bump into three kings. Well she didn't know that when she went to the diner, that three young guys Trent, Joel, and Brad were her three kings, who were on there way to Las Vegas to win money so they could pay rent. Anyways, many things happen to them all, and some of them have secrets that nobody else ever knew before. This movie shows a variety of people who are diverse and teaches you a few lessons about life. Great cast, great script, every actor gave this movie something that most big blockbuster type films can't.
Sparkler
1997
Comedy / Drama
Sparkler
1997
Comedy / Drama
Plot summary
Melba (Park Overall) lives in a trailer park in Victorville, California and is on a run of bad luck. Her husband Flint (Don Harvey) runs out on her when she catches him with a girlfriend. Her mother Sherri (Grace Zabriskie) connects her to a phone psychic, who tells her to watch for three kings who will change her life. In a bar, she runs into Trent (Jamie Kennedy),Brad (Freddie Prinze Jr.),and Joel (Steven Petrarca),who are on their way to Las Vegas, hoping to win enough money to pay their back rent. They nickname her Sparkler; she figures they're the kings and runs off with them. Meanwhile, Flint finds out Melba's won a million-dollar sweepstakes, but she must accept the prize in person within 72 hours or lose it. Melba finds her way to the Crack, a Vegas strip club, and runs into her high school pal Dottie Delgato (Veronica Cartwright) who lives with the club's lesbian owner, Ed (Sandy Martin). Flint, on the other hand, is desperately hunting Melba down with a plan to keep the sweepstakes money for himself.—Barnes and Noble
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Fantastic Film
Inside this "dog" is a good movie trying to get out.
"Sparkler" is a shoe string indie shot in Vegas which throws a bunch of characters from a low life trucker and his wife to a three young broke guys from L.A. to a stripper to a drag queen, etc. into the plot and then struggles for coherence. Buried in this mess of nonsense is a somewhat sentimental story trying to get out. Unfortunately, the real story, which Overall (the title character) almost brings to life, is buried so deep in a lame production that's for most it will never be realized. It took a lot of patience to sit through this film and in the final analysis the liabilities outweighed the assets.
Nervy and sensitive film observes life's gorgeous little truths and sadnesses
I avoided this movie for the longest time because of the video box, which prominently features Jamie Kennedy and Freddie Prinze Jr. Ugh. However, upon renting it, I was pleasantly surprised. It's actually a unexpectedly entertaining, well-written and acted indie film about a trailer trash chick who dumps her loutish husband and searches for independence. Along the way, she meets up with the before-mentioned teen hearthrobs and acts as a catalyst for their own personal growing experiences. The director imbues his material with a caustic, cynical edge which is refreshingly unique for this type of film, and thankfully prevents it from degenerating into sappy, maudlin Oprah-style "I am woman hear me roar!" melodrama. Park Overall is excellent in the title role, but the real surprise here is Veronica Cartright - who demonstrates more of the comic genius she displayed in "The Witches of Eastwick." Some of her lines had me rolling on the floor.