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DREAMGIRLS Send This Review to a Friend
The story is a mess of clichés but the glitzy “Dreamgirls” is a lavish, generally entertaining production that, while conventionally presented, is infused with visual and audio energy. Beyond that, there is a knockout of a rousing performance by Jennifer Hudson that will have everyone talking about her and surely will result in a flock of awards. The film is worth seeing just for the thrill of her tearing up the screen emotionally and musically singing “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.”
Springing from the Broadway musical, “Dreamgirls” tells a story of a group like The Supremes, taking them through the 60s and 70s and dealing with the music world of the time, the machinations, the romancing, the struggles, the betrayals and the efforts to take music that appeals to African-American tastes and cross over into the larger market. Much of the saga is in the tradition of other musical plots, but it is the distinctive cast that gives “Dreamgirls” its special aura.
The screen version of the show has been written and directed by Bill Condon, based on the Broadway production with its book by Tom Eyen and directed and choreographed by the late Michael Bennett. The music is by Henry Krieger, with lyrics by Eyen and screen choreography by Fatima Robinson.
Hudson plays Effie White, who starts out as lead singer with the group but is shunted aside by the manipulative producer Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx) in favor of the more beautiful Deena (Beyoncé Knowles). The other singer in the trio is Lorrell, played by Anika Noni Rose. Eddie Murphy has a dynamic role as the hot-shot, egotistical singer James Early, who aspires to broaden his horizons. The cast also includes Danny Glover, Keith Robinson, Sharon Leal and Hinton Battle.
The total result is a lavishly produced package that glitters with show-biz smarts despite the leaden old-fashioned story. A DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures release.
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