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Dreamgirls

You have to put this movie into perspective! I enjoyed it but it was not until later that I realized that it was not that good! It entertains and that is about it! Well some people may say what more do you expect! Well I suppose I wanted the film to be more than it really is. Then again I also wanted the score to be bigger and better than what it was! The story line is OK and does refer to the Supremes story as we all know... However, the music apart from the "BIG" number is boring. I bought the CD and played it twice and got bored! I immediately listen to Wicked and what a major difference! Now that is what you call a great score! The greatest thing about this movie is Jennifer Hudson! She is perfect for the part and she does a great job with her acting. Also she gives a great performance of a really great song. Everyone knows she was under pressure to reach the levels of Jennifer Holiday and I think she did a good job. However, its was her acting ability that pulled it off. The other star of this show was Eddie Murphy. He was quite outstanding in this film and his role was almost believable. The problem he had was that he was not given enough time to develop the role... The other huge gap in this film was the relationship that was supposed to exist between Foxx and Hudson. Where was it? I think they could have cut the terrible slushy scenes with Foxx and Knowles and concentrated on the relationship with the other two. Now that would have made the film much more interesting. Ah but we have to have our eye candy Beyonce to sell the film. What a pity any time was spent on her as I must be the only person around who is not bothered if I never saw her again! However, I am certainly going to follow the career of the brilliant Jennifer Hudson! You go girl!

The pumped up beats, the glamorous outfits, and that Motown sound - YEAH! Something which the film industry's been waiting for since Chicago won a Best Picture Nod at the Oscars in 2002. The casting is pitch-perfect. Jennifer Hudson is astounding, which keeps you wondering about her departure from American Idol due to insufficient voting??!! That voice, and those emotions pave the way for Oscar glory. Beyonce Knowles, though many critics have credited her as the weakest link in the movie, is far from being weak. Her radiant-glamour and her 20lbs less voluptuous figure, shine whilst "the Dreams" are on stage. She is far from being the weakest link. As Deena Jones, Beyonce has the voice, experience, looks and talent. Eddie Murphy actually acts, and "NO!" -he does not over-act, play multiple characters, or provides unneeded humor- there is a vein of emotions displayed vividly in his character -James "Thunder" Early - from his love between his wife and back-up singer, drug addiction, and winding career. Its too bad, it took Murphy this long to realise his capability and potential in a significant contribution to the film industry. Jamie Foxx - is easily the weakest link. His performance is insipid and it seems like he has been pasted in the scenes to give them attitude and ego-ism. Though its a very Jamie Foxx character, and is pretty much Curtis Taylor Jr. Jamie Foxx's on-screen presence and performance was not good enough. Anika Noni-Rose did not receive the acclaim she deserved. Sure she is the least known in the cast, but her portrayal of Lorell was spot-on, and was as powerful as Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson's performances. Her voice was amazing, and I hope this movie rockets her career. The music especially the additional songs, gave this movie the final touches. Amazingly directed by Bill Condon, this is one movie, that lived up to its hype. Loved every bit of it.

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!

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.

I anticipated the release of the film as much as any fan of the Broadway play. I waited and read reviews for months about the award winning performances. I mean with the star power of Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Danny Glover... the movie couldn't be less than 4 out of 4 stars, right? WRONG! I was definitely disappointed by the finished product. The film did not match up to the publicity hype it was given and the only saving graces were Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson. Eddie Murphy's James Brownesque performance rescues the movie just when it hits its multiple lulls and Jennifer Hudson's performance compels you to pay attention each time she's on screen. Her performance of "And I Am Telling You" was the only time that I felt the hype was deserved. You cringed as she begged her no good man to let her stay in the group and in his life. As many reviewers have stated, she steals the movie from the more experienced actors and deserves all the accolades she's receiving for this performance. Anika Noni Rose was also a strong presence with a great voice and comedic talent. Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles, on the other hand, cruised through their performances. Foxx's acting skills for this film seemed to predate his extraordinary "Ray" performance and Beyonce Knowles was on an extended fashion photo shoot or video taping, posing and shimmying her way through the movie. Her performance wasn't strong enough to make you care about her character at any point in the film. The movie was too hyped, 30 minutes and 1 song (Beyonce's "heartfelt" solo to Jamie Foxx) too long. DH -- Vancouver, WA

I just saw DreamGirls, and all I can say is WOW! what an awful film. The movie is a poor attempt at converting an (apparently) successful musical to screen. I spent the majority of the movie hoping the singing would stop at some point so I could enjoy the movie, but it never did. All the songs sounded exactly the same: exceedingly LONG, tired and uninspired, just like the songs you might hear in a high school play. The singers were very talented, but if I wanted to hear really good singers beat their talent to death, I would go to the opera. Also, the songs written for the singers were well below the talent used to deliver them, kind of like using a Ferarri to deliver pizzas. There was a good storyline, but it was hard to focus on in the movie due to the poor acting, and of course, the mass murder of all the key dramatic scenes by characters breaking out into SONG! The movie was supposed to be a drama, but it's just comical and amateurish. Do studios still use screeners? Save your money, pay off your Christmas bills, or go watch 'RAY' on DVD.

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.

This was longer than the Ten Commandments, All Lord of the Rings and the Matrix Trilogy combined. My oh My, what a nightmare. This is the single biggest over-hype of 2006. THere is not a moment that is not scripted and clichéd. Movie Musicals can be done brilliantly and bring genuine excitement to the viewer. Dreamgirls takes the route of Chinese Water Torture, in the form of endless music montages, shoddy acting, and poor directing choices (Seriously, Mr. Condon, did you HAVE to do the old Billboard countdown shots? It's at #58! No wait, look its rising up the charts and here is the passing Billboard notice to show you again....and again....and again)