Fool’s Gold

Anyone who actually saw the trailer to Mariah Carey's musical romance, Glitter, probably won't be too shocked to hear that it failed to set any records when it his screens in the US this weekend. Carey's first leading role shuffled in to an embarrassed 11th place in the box office lineup when it opened at 1,202 theatres nationwide. Top of the charts, in a generally lacklustre weekend for takings, was Keanu Reeves baseball drama Hardball still on top after its second week. Charting the rise of an unknown singer from obscurity to superstardom, Glitter has garnered almost universally damning reviews. "Fueled by formula, riddled with cliches, mindless from beginning to end," said the Boston Globe, while the New York Post dubbed it: "Helplessly cliched, predictable and unaware of its own lameness." A spokesman from Fox, which owns the US rights to the film, indicated that the film's paltry $2.5 million "may partly be a function of the times we're in." Possibly, but it's just as likely that the thought of Mariah Carey braving heartache and fame in a film this cheesy makes nine out of ten cinemagoers want to eat their own head.