Dreamgirls (2006)

First of all, the ads are misleading. This is not a simple rags to riches story drama. This is a big, over the top musical. Lines are often sung instead of spoken, and compared to other musicals of our time, such as Phantom of the Opera, this one unfortunately feels and views as a play; flat and rather amateurish characters and directing made this rather reminiscent of a paltry made-for-TV biography of the Supremes. With a poor semblance of plot, cringe-worthy overacting by all leads at some point and a running time at least a half hour too long, this movie is by far one of the biggest movie disappointments in recent memory. What I will say in praise of this film is that while she's not exactly Oscar-worthy yet; Jennifer Hudson is most definitely one of the best singers that I can recall in recent memory and her performance was the strongest in the film.

But what it comes down to is; could I recommend this with a clear conscience? Sadly no. This movie bit off more than it could chew, and it shows.

Fmovies: I saw a preview screening of Dreamgirls on Nov. 15. and have to say I was pretty blown away by it. I can always tell when a movie really hits me because the thought immediately runs through my head, "Wow, I can't wait to OWN this on DVD." Needless to say, Dreamgirls is now at the top of my "To Buy" list.

I saw the original Michael Bennett production in 1985, a few years into its Broadway run when Jennifer Holliday was no longer in the Effie role. But even without Holliday I found the show and its score to be among Broadway's best. While I certainly hoped this movie would at least give us a respectable representation of what made the Broadway show so thrilling, I must admit I was afraid to get my expectations too high after the recent string of disappointing stage to screen musical transfers - Phantom of the Opera, Rent and The Producers. Yeah, I had heard the buzz was good for Dreamgirls, but, well, you know how that goes. Sometimes the bigger the buzz the flatter it falls.

And let's face it. Movie musicals are just flat-out tough to pull off. While I consider the number of truly great movies to be pretty small, the list of truly great movie MUSICALS is even smaller. And the ones that manage to do more than just recreate a literal adaptation of the stage play, truly utilizing the medium of film to create something bold and cinematic are almost non existent: Cabaret, Chicago...maybe one or two others...end of story. Plus, I think it's even more difficult to successfully transfer musicals to film today given modern audiences inability to accept characters "breaking into song."

So I hope I'm not adding to the already extensive hype when I report that, for me at least, Dreamgirls delivers big time. The film manages to achieve the near impossible task of remaining faithful to it's source material (in fact, several times it gives direct nods to Bennett's brilliant original staging) while utilizing the medium of film to it's fullest, creating something fresh and exciting in its own right.

Dreamgirls not only transitions seamlessly between spoken dialog and musical numbers, but redefines musical storytelling by using the musical artifice of "breaking into song" carefully and judiciously to punctuate only those moments in the movie when the emotion builds to the point where words can no longer adequately contain it. I can't express strongly enough how impressed I was with the way Bill Condon managed to handle these transitions. Truly masterful. But it's not just the transitions that are handled well. The movie is artfully rendered and exquisitely produced in literally every area with outstanding, heartfelt performances by each and every cast member. And yes, Jennifer Hudson is as good as they say. I can honestly say that there's no way I can imagine this film being done any better.

If there's any weak spot in Dreamgirls, it's the dramatic flaws inherent in the piece itself. The second act of the stage play (after "and I'm telling you I'm not going") was never quite as dramatically intense or focused as the first. And the movie feels pretty much the same way. But, believe me, this is a minor flaw compared to what's RIGHT about Dreamgirls.

Make no mistake. This film is going to be a triumph and earn a place in movie history. Not to mention my DVD library.

I went to a trade screening of "Dreamgirls" a few days ago and from the first seconds of the film, you can tell that you're in for the time of your life. To put it shortly, Bill Condon (director-writer) delivers the goods with this film. It's most definitely the first of its kind. It moves at a rapturous pace that leaves you breathless and delivers performances that are both subtle and fittingly over the top.

The movie explains plot holes from the Broadway musical and adds many historical occurrences (Martin Luther King Jr., etc.) that gives the film a much more social awareness. Most of the sung dialogue from the musical is replaced with spoken with the exception of a few scenes. The music itself has always been wonderful, and this able cast performs it spectacularly.

The performances are something else. Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murhpy, and Anika Noni Rose will blow you away. Murphy's vocals, though not as strong as his leading ladies, suit his character perfectly and shows a vulnerable side to him towards the end that we never knew he had. Rose makes the transition from a giggly little girl into a full-blossomed woman seamlessly, and Hudson-well, let's just say that any major hype you've heard about her does not do her performance justice. Beyonce Knowles will catch you off guard with her beautifully subtle performance, brilliantly channeling Diana Ross with her musical performances. Jaime Foxx, Keith Robinson, Danny Glover, and Sharon Leal also hand in admirable performances.

I could not recommend this film more. It gives hope AGAIN to the movie musical that "Chicago" revived and "The Phantom of the Opera", "Rent", and "The Producers" almost killed. I can't say whether this film will be the next "Chicago" (I do foresee MANY Oscar noms, including Best Pic and others), I certainly hope it will be. I dream it will be bigger. It is definitely not the next "The Producers". I can say this though: It is the first, and only, "Dreamgirls" that we will ever encounter.

Dreamgirls fmovies. I'm an old guy who was around in the 50's and 60's when they were cranking out those stock rock 'n roll biz movies. I've seen this movie a dozen times before. Dreamgirls has the clichéd characters and the predictable paper thin plot that were characteristic of the genre. Even in the context of that genre Dreamgirls doesn't make the grade because it has an instantly forgettable soundtrack.

I think Dreamgirls was supposed to be a parody of those old movies, but none of the critics got it because they are all too young to have seen them. They are not classics. Dreamgirls takes itself very seriously with not one moment of humor. Therein lies the parody -- nobody took those old rock n roll movies seriously.

As those old rock 'n roll movies demonstrated, transferring great stage numbers straight to film with twinkie filling between the numbers does not make a great movie.

My nomination for the most over-hyped movie of 2006 goes to ...

I grew up in this age, I loved the music, it was part of my life. This movie creates an ugly caricature of that time and sound. The music doesn't sound anything like the real music of that era: it sounds like a misguided and failed attempt to make the music of that era sound like the current sounds. The story lines and (especially) the characters spontaneously bursting out in song are pathetic and false. I find it utterly, utterly incomprehensible why bona fide stars like Jennifer Hudson, Eddy Murphy, and Jamie Foxx would want to have anything to do with this piece of junk, and completely stunning why this movie won any awards! The acting is bad, the singing is bad, the script was called in by a screenwriter with a hangover on his/her way to a custody settlement hearing. This movie was offensively awful. YECH!

Fantabulous. Stupendous. I can't even believe it. I've changed my pick for Best Picture this year so many times you'd think I have multiple personalities. But let me tell you it's just been a tremendous year for film. Kudos all around. I tell you none of the BP nominees last year, could compete this year. And I loved Brokeback Mountain and Munich.

Dreamgirls is an amazing movie. I know what you're thinking. I didn't believe the hype either. But I saw it today and I actually don't think it's been hyped enough. Everyone deserves to be nominated. But it's just that kind of year, folks. Too many awesome performances not enough nominations. Of course the major buzz has been going to Jennifer Hudson and she does deserve as much praise as she's getting but that's because she's a 15. Everyone else is a 10. So she's better but it's ridiculous how awesome everyone else is. Of course Eddie Murphy's great. He's been in those movies where he plays like 10 fat people, which should have gotten him some recognition all these years, but of course they wouldn't go for that. But now that he's done such a great job here whatever awards he'll get, he'll deserve. And those of us who loved "Party All the Time" are definitely not surprised at his vocal prowess. Jamie Foxx is great again you know, but this time he's playing the villain so maybe that's why he's kinda been ignored. Anika Noni Rose. I don't know where she came from but I loved her too. All great voices. All great performances.

Beyonce. Okay, I'm not a huge fan. She's talented and I appreciated her acting from Austin Powers. Yeah that sounds weird but you could tell she was comfortable on screen and had a lot of fun. I don't generally like the way she and her contemporaries sing nowadays so I wasn't expecting much either way. I figured she'd be passable. But she did such a great job playing Diana Ross. Everything down to the gestures, and the fact that she wanted to lose weight for this, tells me that she definitely took her job seriously. And it paid off.

I think this is rated PG13. I can't remember why. I think there are a few bad words and one quick flash of some drugs. But I wouldn't mind taking a kid to this. Because there is so much more to it that's worth it. In a strange way I thought it would make a great double feature with Happy Feet. So much toe-tapping to be done. People waited in my theater through the credits for Jennifer Hudson's name/image to pop up and they all clapped. That never happens where I live either. Never. And there were little old ladies going "WOOHOO!" after a couple of Effie's songs.

If you like movies, this year go see everything. But make sure that you save time for this one. You're gonna love it.