Movie Notes: Dreamgirls
January 16th, 2007
= 4 stars
Starring Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy
Directed by Bill Condon
The spouse wanted an uplifting flick, and Dreamgirls fit the bill. It’s a quick ride right out of the gates, as we begin in the middle of an amateur music competition, with hardly an introduction before the singing starts.
Dreamgirls follows the typical musical bio-pic rags-to-riches romance-to-ruin story arc, and many obligatory musical scenes seem intentionally left out or abridged, as we’ve seen them before in other films. It leads to a kind of rushed, music video feel, but I didn’t mind.
A neat trick in Dreamgirls is that group and all of its music is fictional, but mimics the sounds of the times. As the group morphs into something resembling the Supremes, we’re treated to rhythm and blues, rock and roll, jazz, Motown, funk, and disco.
There’s a musical joke of sorts – the brassy lead singer Effie is the group’s “soul.” When she leaves the Dreamettes, they become straight pop, and their moral compass goes awry as manager (Jaimie Foxx) employs payola and cultivating superficial beauty to shoot the group to the top. This musical metaphor reaches its apex when comparing Effie’s saucy solo song and the Dreamgirls’ disco cover.
The actress who plays Effie (Jennifer Hudson) is the film’s revelation – genuine talent. I guess she was a contestant on American Idol. She’s an amazing singer, and can act to boot, displaying a sassy attitude that will be a force to contend with in guaranteed, future movie roles.
That said, Dreamgirls is much too long, I sort of wish there was a coda dealing with different musical genres past 1981, and while critics are generally lauding Eddie Murphy as Jimmy Early, I’ll wait for the Prince biopic.
I’m sort of torn between three and four stars, but since this post was so easy to write, I’ll give it four.
IMDB: Dreamgirls
Wikipedia: Dreamgirls
Rotten Tomatoes: Dreamgirls 78%
Please subscribe to the Webomatica RSS Feed!
Posted In: 4 Star Movies, General, Movies 4 stars, Beyonce Knowles, Bill Condon, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson
Related Posts:
Movie Notes: Quantum Of Solace Movie Notes: Alice In Wonderland Movie Notes: Brick
Previous Post: Netflix Offering Free Streaming Movies
Next Post: Music Notes: April March, Chick Habit
[...] If you enjoy musical comedies, you’ll enjoy Hairspray. I’ll likely watch it again, in addition to the John Waters original. I’d put it on the same level as Chicago or Dreamgirls. [...]
[...] plot if there’s awesome music, dance numbers, or something else to make up the difference (Dreamgirls, Across The Universe, West Side Story). August Rush is awkwardly lacking in all other departments. [...]
[...] musicals rather than the reality they purport to represent (hence the completely fabricated Dreamgirls). Once dials back the fantasy, and captures a real joy of discovery – be it musical, an [...]