Sparkle: Whitney Houston is a Must-See

“Sparkle” is a good musical melodrama but not much more than that. It stars Jordin Sparks, in her acting debut. Ms. Sparks is certainly competent, but I don't expect her to have a huge screen career.

The stand-out is Whitney Houston, in her last screen performance. She's not the greatest actress you've ever seen, but she's very good playing a middle-aged woman crushed under the burden of a lifetime of heartbreaks. Where she really comes alive is when she sings. She only has one song in the film, a slow Gospel hymn, and she brings down the house.

Ms. Houston clearly could have had a second career as a torch-song singer. Even though she lost her remarkable range in her 40s, she still could sing the pants off a song, as long as it was in the alto range. She sings this hymn with such profound soul that my entire audience burst into spontaneous applause when she finished. I've almost never heard anything like that in a movie theater.

I'm paying $200 a seat to see Barbra Streisand this fall (who's 70!). I would easily have paid $200 to watch Ms. Houston sing alto songs in 2012 had I been given the opportunity. Her ridiculously early death is a great loss for the world.

The greatest value "Sparkle" has is that it captures this spectacular artist in the last phase of her life. The movie is worth seeing anyway. But with the added value of Houston, it's a must-see for anyone who cares about great music.