contemporary music as thrilling as hearing Carey soar to a high note and hang there like a trapeze artist who refuses to fall." Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times said, "Glitter is mostly dross, an unintentionally hilarious compendium of time-tested cinematic clichés that illustrate the chasm between hopeful imitation and successful duplication." Total Film magazine reviewed the film extremely negatively, awarding it just one star and stating, "It can't even scale heights of campy awfulness. This isn't so bad it's good, it's so bad it's actionable ... An inept star vehicle that starts out desperately tedious and gets less interesting. Leaves you wishing the Lumiére brothers had said bollocks to cinema and gone down the pub." The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of the 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. Retrospective reception 20 years after the release of the film, Mic writer Treye Green noted in an article that upon release, many people used the film to "defame and demean the pop music superstar" but he ultimately praised the theme of the film which is to "put yourself first and never abandon your dreams — a theme Carey lived out in real life as she boldly navigated harsh critiques and continued to push through". He went on to say, The ebullience of Glitter was dimmed by a ravenous means to diminish the joy of the project and revel in the perceived leveling of Carey’s illustrious career. But after 20 years, the project is beginning to get the credit it deserves. The film is being elevated to a cult classic. Green also called the film a "beloved symbol of the tenacity, resilience, and innovativeness Carey has shown throughout her legendary career". Medium writer Richard LeBeau also commented on the film saying that the film was not "deserving of its designation as one of the worst films ever made". He stated that "Lanier's screenplay is painfully cliched at times" and that the director, Curtis Hall, made "some cringe-worthy choices after a strong opening segment". He added that the "vitriol spewed at [Carey] during this period of time wreaked of misogyny, racism, and mental health stigma and completely overlooked the role of national tragedy, corporate sabotage, and her personal struggles". Actors' response Carey herself has also openly dismissed and distanced herself from the film; she stated in