Dreamgirls (DVD)

...forged a new, can the Dreamgirls fight for their dreams and stay true to themselves in a sell out world?

Dreamgirls is exactly what you would expect; a bombastic, exciting, glittering showdown of substance and style which boasts wonderful performances, startling visuals and a constantly interesting story which shoots along to a moving and genuinely magical conclusion. Even though the pacing is occasionally off and a few of the songs ...
...that the weakest part of Dreamgirls was, rather bizarrely, the music; sure nearly all of the songs are exciting, moving and packed with catchy melodies, sweet vocals and interesting lyrics but rarely do they truly stand out. Too often I found the musical sequences passing me by, sometimes even getting in the way of the wider story and adding little to the richness of the piece. Music in musicals usually serves to advance the plot line, they are supposed ... more

Its talent night at some club, the brightest young acts are all competing to win a cash prize, the mood is frantic, and music fills the air. In hurries Deena and Lorrell two members of the Dreamgirls, they are late and missing their lead singer. Eventually Effie arrives and they take to the amateur stage, singing a poppy, motown tune that grabs the attention of the young Curtis Taylor a used car salesman with big aspirations. He makes them agree to sign him as their manager and he quickly gets them a gig as the back-up singers for soul legend James Early... where they get enough attention to branch out on their own and try to make their trio successful in their own right. Things start to turn sour when Curtis suggests that Deena takes over the role as lead singer because of her ‘look’ despite having less natural talent. As their friendships start to crumble and relationships are knocked down and forged a new, can the Dreamgirls fight for their dreams and stay true to themselves in a sell out world?

Dreamgirls is exactly what you would expect; a bombastic, exciting, glittering showdown of substance and style which boasts wonderful performances, startling visuals and a constantly interesting story which shoots along to a moving and genuinely magical conclusion. Even though the pacing is occasionally off and a few of the songs are nothing but forgettable it manages to amerce its audience into a whole new world where flashy visuals reign supreme, music is a true transportation into someone soul and the ups and downs of life in the music industry make for sweet, sweet melodies. Uniquely for a musical it tackles real issues with vigour and sensitivity, examining how commercialism can squash people’s dreams, exploring the crucial transition from childhood to fully fledged adulthood and following an extremely moving story of transformation, deception, family ties and personal growth. A brilliant fusion of body and technique with its hand firmly pushed on the ‘entertain’ button, this is a movie made to be watched, it’s fashions are meant to be gawped out, it songs designed to move and inspire foot stomping throughout the nations homes. It’s a veritable foot stomping crowd-pleaser, bursting with old Hollywood glamour, motown/disco/funk show tunes and a handful of star turns from some of the most talented actors working in film today. If you like your flicks smooth, vibrant and intelligent then you will undoubtedly find something to like about Dreamgirls, sit back, strap yourself in and prepare yourself for one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

I felt that the weakest part of Dreamgirls was, rather bizarrely, the music; sure nearly all of the songs are exciting, moving and packed with catchy melodies, sweet vocals and interesting lyrics but rarely do they truly stand out. Too often I found the musical sequences passing me by, sometimes even getting in the way of the wider story and adding little to the richness of the piece. Music in musicals usually serves to advance the plot line, they are supposed to give characters an outlet to say something that they can’t express in mere conversation, they are supposed to reveal pieces of the plot which had before gone unsaid and usually give the scene a heightened accuracy in what it hopes to achieve (whether it be to scare the audience, make them swoon or make them laugh). Too frequently the songs in Dreamgirls feel like they are there simply because the film is a musical so they have to be, instead of being free moving and spontaneous most of them are performed on a stage which makes them feel stagey and oddly immobile. However, when the songs are at their best they are some of the finest examples of high glamour musical ensembles. Much has been written about Jennifer Hudson’s truly astonishing ‘I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ a tear soaked, rebel rousing, foot stomping piece of movie magic which is without doubt the best moment of the film and truly lets Hudson shine. There is no doubt in my mind that this was the thing that clinched her the Oscar; she screams, she shouts, she cries and reaches out to the audience with more compassion, dignity and grace than the screen can encapsulate. The song (and indeed Hudson) is a true force to be reckoned with stunningly emotive lyrics, a gorgeous sweeping bass line and culminates into a stonking crescendo which leaves you gob smacked (it’s the only time I’ve ever been in a cinema we’re people have clapped after a musical number).

Beyonce gets her own equally moving if a little less spectacular hit with the beautifully written and delivered ‘Listen’ which proves to be another highlight. The starlet is saddled with the least interesting character... well until she gets to belt this beauty out; it has a stunning chorus, lyrics which really add texture to her character and some impressive vocals. It’s the first time that Miss Knowles get to show off her skills and she does so with relish, drenching her singing with you-go-girl power and a twinge of sadness which give the song lots of resonance. There are a few others that stand out as keepers (one night only, the jolly love you I do) but the rest seem to bleed into each other, non making a huge impact and non advancing the plot in any significant way. Sadly there isn’t a song which shows off Jamie Foxx’s significant talent and the finale doesn’t pack the kind of punch that you would expect; the film goes out with a pleasant motown hit rather than a belting show-tune.

The cast are all pretty excellent; Beyonce bravely take on the lead role showing that she has a definite screen presence and a good (some may say surprising) dose of acting ability. Despite the fact that she hands the first act over to Jennifer Hudson, she eventually blossoms and puts her all into the proceedings giving her characters self discovery alot of poignancy and power. She handles her characters transformation from naive teen to powerful star with grace and realism. Eddie Murphy puts in a wonderfully energetic performance as the sly James Early, giving his musical numbers a huge amount of vigour and packing a cunning emotional punch to his more moving scenes. From his exciting entrance he lights up the screen with a real passion for his character and the material and successfully handles the darker aspects of his complex character. Always believable as a slime bag, but strangely affable he puts in a well rounded and interesting performance which was fully deserving of the Oscar nod. Only Jamie Foxx is miscast, he’s too likeable and charming to make Curtis feel real. At first he’s natural presence fits well with Curtis’s well meaning actions and slightly naive outlook but as his character turns super media mogul Foxx gets out of his depth, delivering his dialogue with a stiffness and ilease which makes his scenes difficult to relate to.

However there is no doubt that new comer Jennifer Hudson is the star of the show; raw but polished, vulnerable but strong, head strong but naive she perfectly embodies the complex character. A powerful screen presence, rubbed raw by pain, she blazes up the screen and stomps her way into the audience’s heart. Emotionally involving because of her excellent handling of Effie’s later development (some of her scenes are truly heart breaking especially towards the movies conclusion) and likeable due to her sheer enjoyment of the material (when she is singing I love you I do she is luminous and radiant with delight) she proves to be the pinnacle of the films quality, pulling all of her scenes up a notch, displaying true star quality and acting anyone else off the screen. She obviously relishes the musical sequences, packing a huge punch with songs like One Night Only, delivering and emotional one two hit and delivering imagination and spunk in her presentation. Her Oscar win was entirely deserved rarely does a new comer tug at the heartstrings, blast through preconceptions and cause people to clap at the end of a song..... Brilliant.

Bill Condon directs with style, energy and a sly wit which puts Dreamgirls a cut above the glut of movie musicals around; he’s not afraid to put as much emphasis on the story as the music, he knows how to deliver emotion without overblown melodrama and makes the musical sequences pop. He creates inventive set pieces which bring a huge amount of motown glamour to the proceedings and has a keen eye for visuals; he manages to create a world of extravagant allure but manages to make it feel real and believable. Even though the visuals are largely spectacular, they never take centre stage, the story is always at the heart of Dreamgirls, the characters journeys are the most engaging element of the film and Condon puts alot of time into making the audience care about what happens to them. However he does create some pacing problems, the film is about 20 minutes too long and some of the sequences between Beyonce and Foxx don’t have the kind of impact that they should. It feels like Condon is so busy making the first half all about Effie that when the story shifts and Deena emerges as the main character we don’t know he enough to truly care. But all in all he grabs firmly onto the material and lovingly crafts a rollicking, interesting good yarn.

Overall Dreamgirls is a rollicking rollercoaster of style, substance and glamour. With some truly stunning performances, astounding visuals and a few super exciting musical sequences it bursts through the screen with vibrancy and passion... for those who love the genre it will be a little bit of heaven, for those who don’t the story may just be interesting enough to be keep them watching.

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