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"Dreamgirls" is not what I dreamed it would be, and yet it does have a mostly superb dream cast, particularly Eddie Murphy and an always charismatic Jamie Foxx. I thought being directed by Bill Condon (screenwriter of "Chicago") it would grab me in the same way that "Chicago" did. But in this case you wish that Rob Marshall had directed and that it had been edited more tightly. Because they chose to add new songs, the second half of the film drags and songs seem piled on for no reason but Oscar nominations. I wish the historical footage had been integrated as well as it was in "Bobby" which set a high standard, but it seems thrown in to manipulate. My biggest problem is the acclaimed Jennifer Hudson, formerly of American Idol, who seems to be playing herself. This is not acting, since we saw the petulant diva in exactly the same way on that show, ironically unable to accept that she was'nt the best person to be the star and even then bitching back to the judges. Yes, she can belt out a song, but I was put off by her in this role to such a degree it took away from the film. You just don't feel sorry for her, when the Dreamettes and her agent and lover let her have it for her bossy behavior, being late and endlessly argumentative. You hail the decision to feature Beyonce, for her beauty, style and singing. Who wouldn't make that decision. Overall it's enjoyable and entertaining because there are some great original songs and Eddie Murphy is a hoot.Read full review
In what is really Jennifer Hudson's movie, all the other established stars deliver top notch performances as well. It is the story of a Supremes like singing trio composed of Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones (Beyonce Knowles) and Lorrell Robinson(Anika Noni Rose). They go from trying out in a talent contest to becoming back up singers for the famous James Brown like singer known as Jimmy Thunder Early played wonderfully by Eddie Murphy. His story gets interwoven with theirs as their manager Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx) makes the backups more famous than Jimmy. And then because of Effie's weight and attitude, she gets replaced. But the story doesn't end there. With fabulous costumes and sets, this movie is fabulously produced with new music galore. We are thoroughly entertained with songs that you will want to buy the CD for. Especially entertaining is the song "One Night Only" which is performed two ways. Also great are "Stepping to the Bad Side," "Cadillac Car," and "Family," which is ironic. And then there are the tunes that we have heard before--both of which belong to Effie: the famous "I'm not going!" and "I am changing," both of which are show stoppers. This movie was nominated for 8 Academy Awards in 2006 and won two: Jennifer Hudson as Best Supporting Actress, although she really is the actress with the most time on the screen, and Best Sound Mixing. The other six award nominations went to Eddie Murphy (Best Supporting Actor), Best Costumes, Best Art Direction, and 3 Best Song Nominations ("Listen", "Love You I Do," and "Patience"). Many thought that Eddie Murphy was robbed in his quest, as the winner in his category was Alan Arkin in a much smaller role in an obscure movie. This movie is a must-see. It ranks up there at the top with other 21st Century musicals like "Chicago" and "Mamma Mia."Read full review
For all the importance of music within African-American history, musicals used to be a whites-only genre in Hollywood. Then came Queen Latifah's role in Chicago in 2002, followed by the hit Ray in 2005. But whereas Latifah had only a supporting role in Chicago, and Ray was more a drama with great music, this movie is truly a musical in every sense of the word, with all the major roles played by African-Americans. The story is of three women in Detroit who grow up as childhood friends and become international pop stars. Along the way, they meet men, become rich, break up, and finally reunite at the end of the movie. The casting is great, and includes both older (Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover) and younger (Jennifer Hudson and Jamie Foxx) stars. Many of them turn in great musical performances, and my personal favorite is Eddie Murphy, who puts in one dazzling stage show after another. The movie portrays multiple facets of the celebrity life such as betrayal, substance abuse, sexual rivalries, money-grubbing, contractual disputes, and the ever present dumbing down of content to increase sales. The movie makes occasional references to race issues. As a musical, the music pieces ranged from good to great. Their placement in the movie however, was not the best. The movie broke out in music during proper music scenes, like during the scenes of performances. But the movie also had songs during "non-music" scenes. For example, many conversations became singing scenes. Unfortunately, the most heartfult songs; those with the most emotion, fell into the latter category, whereas the the stage performance songs sounded like generic pop hits. This might have been done on purpose, as a reflection of the character Curtis's belief that the music has to be superficial and shallow enough to please all crowds. But it detracted from the movie as half the songs had little heart but too much glitz. This, and the constant replacement of dialogue with music was probably why this movie did not receive the Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. My belief is that it is a better musical than Ray (also starring Jamie Foxx), but had nowhere near the heart or emotional punch to it. This DVD is fairly straightforward; movie plus extra scenes. I just wished the DVD came with an option of playing the movie with all the extra scenes added into it.Read full review
I love the way the costumes matched the period as well as the sets, hair styles, etc... The music was outstanding and it was nice to see a musical that did not use studio singers. Not only did Jennifer Hudson do an outstanding job with her singing parts but her acting was outstanding as well. Eddie Murphy displayed great range. Jamie Foxx played a character that was not meant to be well like but was on par with what is said about Berry Gordy. The music captured the time and reminded people what the motown sound was all about and gave a little insight to how things really were. More than anything else it was a great film to just sit back and enjoy.
Dreamgirls is a wonderful story of an all-girl singing group who pursues their dream to become number 1. However the pitfalls of greed and betrayal by their manager interferes and hurts their chances of reaching their dreams together. Jennifer Hudson gives an outstanding performance as one of the "girls" who is sadly betrayed. However, she in later years regains inner strength and picks up the pieces of her life, and gets back into the spotlight of her musical career. Her voice is electrifying and exhiliarating. Beyonce, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx gives great performances in this must see Golden Globe movie. I love this movie. It brings laughter, tears, happiness, joy and ends in victory! This is no low-budget movie. It deserves all of the credit as other movie greats have such as Ray, Fame, and other such great musical/dramas -with more great star performers. This is a must see feature film and is an excellent movie to add to your collection, even if just for the music alone; not to mention the superb acting!Read full review
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