Dreamgirls Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)December 27th, 2006
"DreamGirls" -- Supreme
by Homer Yen
(c) 2006
Musical films based on Broadway shows have
sometimes won my applause (Chicago) and have also garnered jeers (Rent). For these kinds of films
to resonate for me, it has to do a couple of
things, not the least of which is to have some
catchy songs set against a story of grand
achievement. "DreamGirls" lands much closer to
all that jazz rather than that
rock-opera-without-one-memorable-song.
The film is based on the hit Broadway musical
from the early 80s, and if you want to have a
taste of the vitality and pomp of the original
cast, you need only go over to YouTube.com and
search the following: "Miss Jennifer Holiday,
1982 Tony Awards." She gives a tour de force rendition of the film's signature song, "And I'm Telling You" (which is sung with stirring
bravado). And I'm telling you that it would be impossible to replicate that kind of crackling
energy without the perfect cast. And yet,
somehow it has been done featuring a multi-Grammy winner, a Tony award winner, and an American Idol
finalist.
"Dreamgirls" takes place in Detroit during the
early 60s and follows the lives of an aspiring
trio. Deena (Beyonce Knowles) is the soft-voiced
but pretty one, Effie (Jennifer Hudson) is the
ample leader who has the range and vocal power of
the most soulful of singers, and Lorrell (Anika
Noni Rose) is as talented as she is appreciative
of the opportunity to perform. All they need is
a break, and it comes when they are noticed by
Curtis Taylor (Jamie Foxx), who is a
smooth-talking car salesman that has an ear for
music and a mind for business.
This time period is a turbulent one with the
Civil Rights movement and segregation protests in
full swing. The crafty Curtis sees terrific
potential in this group if he could only make a
few tweaks. This includes putting Deena as the
lead singer because her good looks can help them harness the emerging medium of television and her softer delivery makes her more likely to have crossover appeal to the white population. Curtis
is not evil, and the film does a good job showing
that his decisions are for the betterment of
business, though frequently the consequences do
leave people hurt.
The focus turns to Effie, who eventually suffers
a series of personal setbacks, and the road to
stardom is a foreboding mountain to climb when
you don't have any supporters in a business where bribery and backstabbing seems commonplace. As
an actress, Hudson shows that she has the acting
chops as a street-tough girl. And as a singer,
wow, this girl can belt those songs out. She
does just about an impressive a job as possible considering it's Jennifer Holiday's shoes that
she has to fill. But, Hudson's powerful delivery
both in song and in dialogue (and also thanks to
the purposefully reserved deliverance of moviestar-in-the-making Beyonce) makes Effie one
of the best (if not THE BEST) supporting roles
this year.
Not all of the songs are as brilliant, but the
singers confidently deliver great performance
after great performance. Not all of the film is
as evenly powerful, but the story of chasing fame
and redemption is a crowd-pleaser. Meanwhile the casting is great, including Eddie Murphy as an entertainer at the end of his career and Danny
Glover as an avuncular music agent. And the film sparkles with the stuff that dreams are made of
and fought for. As Effie triumphantly sings,
"you're gonna love me."
Grade: A-
S: 1 out of 3
L: 1 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
