Dreamgirls (2006)

gorgeous women; scuzzy men

"Dream Girls" is a brilliant, glitzy and thoroughly entertaining production. The women in the film sparkle with both talent, grace and beauty. The men, both entertainers and agents, are sleazy enough to want to make you take a good both after watching them. They are acquisitive, double-dealing and sleazy. Eddie Murphy as a James Brown surrogate does an especially great job. Consumed by intemperance and drugs he crashes out before the end of the movie. It is a little difficult to understand why the female "Dreams" love these creeps but...hey...it's Hollywood.

"The Dreams" are fairly clearly styled on the "Supremes" and their music and back up verges on the spectacular. The choreography is every bit as good as the original 'Supremes", maybe better. Effie, as the not quite so pretty and a little overweight member of the developing group that will become the "Dreams", is especially good. Despite the fact that she is the most talented member of the group she is tossed aside because their agent thinks she doesn't fit the beautiful image of the other girls. We feel her hurt and humiliation as she tries to survive without the music she loves. Effie, if I'm not mistaken, is an Aretha Franklin type character, not beautiful, perhaps, but a terrific talent.

Anyway, most of the scuzzy men in the film are ultimately left in the dust but the glorious 'Dreams' go on to greater glory.

Ron

October 9, 2008

Deserving of some honors; not of others

(written by Leigh's wife): I had been looking forward to seeing this for quite a while, but couldn't find a Widescreen copy. I was interested in seeing if it was all it was hyped up to be. I was particularly interested in seeing the performances by Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Beyonce Knowles and, of course, Jennifer Hudson.

My opinions:

I do not like Jamie Foxx as a comedian; however, he is definitely growing on me as a dramatic actor! Seeing him in this and, more recently, "The Kingdom", he is impressive.

I sincerely hope that Jennifer Hudson is thumbing her nose at those stupid "American Idol" people. She was fantastic! She could be both tough and naive at the same time. She impressed me; she deserved her Oscar.

Beyonce is beautiful. Her singing is OK; I'm glad that her character in the movie was admitted as not a strong singer, but more asthetically pleasing. She seemed to be playing to type.

Eddie Murphy...what a disappointment. I will admit that I have never, ever liked him (I have ONLY liked him in "Mulan"). He is very much a one-note performer. All he was doing was channelling his famous SNL "Hot Tub" skit. His speech pattern, short and choppy, got extremely annoying after a while. I would have liked to have seen someone else - ANYONE else - in this role.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, and it was worth the purchase. October 7, 2008

dreamgirls

The story is ordinary in this category, not much surprise. But the songs are great. Very easy listening and the sound effect is good! Never imagine I like this kind of film so much. October 6, 2008

Awesome music

This musical has some of the most incredible music I have heard in a long time. Jennifer Hudson's performance is out of this world. I watch or listen to this DVD frequently because of the music. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys this type of film. October 3, 2008

Dreamgirls

This movie is my first experience with "Dreamgirls" Magic, and that does not bother me in the least as I was amazed by the spirit and style of this incredible little musical. Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphey are by far the best two actors, but none of the talent is worth lament. Like all good musicals, the songs are what truly keeps this going and they are amazing. However, this does have a hell of a good story and plenty of rousing dance sequences. It's thrown together fairly randomly, but it works in its own artsy way. All in all, I love it. September 27, 2008

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