susan granger's review of " glitter " ( 20th century-fox ) <NEG> there's less here than meets the eye </NEG> . or , put it this way , if you thought madonna was awful in " shanghai surprise , " mariah carey's <NEG> worse </NEG> in this reworking of " a star is born . " she plays billie frank who , despite being abandoned by her singer/alcoholic mother ( valerie pettiford ) , believes she's destined for greatness because everyone tells her she is . " you've got this amazing gift , and you gotta use it , " her roommate says . " your voice - it's incredible , " says another singer . " i ain't never met anyone like you , " proclaims julian " dice " black ( max beesley ) , the hot new york dj who becomes her svengali-like producer/lover . problem is : her signature song , " i didn't mean to turn you on " is wretched . and when she fumes out of filming her first music video because the director wants to " exploit " her by having her wear a bikini , <NEG> the audience bursts into laughter </NEG> . exploit mariah carey , who chooses to wear as little as the law will allow ? come on ! writer kate lanier's script is <NEG> fatuous </NEG> and director vondie curtis-hall <NEG> doesn't have a clue </NEG> how to handle the glitzy pop diva and , as a result of their <NEG> incompetence </NEG> , whispery-voice'd ms . carey seems to be embarrassed on-screen . she almost cringes when the camera comes in for a close-up , pursing her lips and averting her glassy eyes . talented british musician max beesley <NEG> appears equally inept </NEG> , and as cinematographer geoffrey simpson pans around the manhattan skyline , there's an audible audience groan when the twin towers of the world trade center come into view . perhaps one of the reasons ms . carey suffered her highly-publicized nervous breakdown this summer is because she saw a preview of <NEG> this clunker </NEG> . on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , " glitter " is a <NEG> pathetic </NEG> 1 . right now , <NEG> it's tops on my list of the worst of 2001 </NEG> .
