TRAILERS

Darren Stein's 1997 Vegas Comedy 'Sparkler' 2K Re-Release Trailer

by Alex Billington
December 12, 2022
Source: YouTube

"Let's party!" Strand Releasing has debuted a 2K re-release trailer for a 90s indie dramedy titled Sparkler, made by filmmaker Darren Stein just before he would go on to direct Jawbreaker. It debuted at the 1997 Hamptons Film Festival, only getting a video release later in 1999, but not many people have heard of this. Melba is a Californian trailer-park girl who is said to look for three kings by a phone psychic, and when she meets three guys – Trent, Brad and Joel traveling to Las Vegas, she decides they are those kings and joins them on a trip. In Vegas she meets up with her old high school pal Dottie. The film stars Park Overall as Melba, with Freddie Prinze Jr., Jamie Kennedy, Steven Petrarca, Veronica Cartwright, Grace Zabriskie, Octavia Spencer, Frances Bay, Glenn Shadix, and Sandy Martin. This does not seem as fun as the other 90s classic Vegas comedy Swingers, and the NY Times wrote a scathing review when it was first released in '99. Might be a nice new discovery for some, but for most this seems like it's worth skipping.

Here's the new 2K re-release trailer (+ poster) for Darren Stein's Sparkler, direct from YouTube:

Melba May is a trailer park princess who decides she needs to radically change her life when she catches her husband in bed with her best friend. After a night of heavy drinking at the local bar she befriends three recent college grads from Los Angeles who are en route to Las Vegas to hopefully win some money to pay rent. She joins them, happy to leave her husband for good -- until he finds out that she has won a million dollar sweepstakes and must hunt her down. Sparkler is directed by American writer / filmmaker Darren Stein, his feature directorial debut before going on to make Jawbreaker (1999). The screenplay is written by Catherine Eads and Darren Stein. It's produced by Jennifer Amerine and Kimberly Jacobs. This initially premiered at the 1997 Hamptons Film Festival, before going on to only get a direct-to-video release later in 1999. Strand Releasing will debut the Sparkler 2K re-release in select US theaters sometime in early 2023.

Find more posts: Indies, To Watch, Trailer