I usually tend to avoid films with a lot of hype around them but I suppose with Dreamgirls it wasn't so much the hype rather a certain cast member. I am a Beyonce fan and do like her singing but I saw 'The Fighting Temptations' one of her previous acting roles and I wasn't too moved by her acting it was just another singer singing in a role and calling it acting. Now, I suppose not a lot really changed in this film as yet again she still plays the role of a singer but I suppose this is her best role yet and is much better than her Austin Powers days.
The film has won many awards which I was quite shocked by it has won somewhere around 40 awards which is pretty amazing for a film so with this alone I decided to watch this. This film begins with us seeing a stage and singers on it, it is like a song contest and at the end one group only will win. When Deena (Beyonce Knowles) and her girls arrive late the makers are not sure if they will put her group into the show because they are late but then after Curtis (Jamie Foxx) has a word with the man in charge they agree to let them go on at the end. They are known as the Dreamettes and go on stage with a great performance.
As the acts all wait patiently in this busy Chicago theatre hoping for their name to be called Curtis pays the people in charge to not call out the Dreamettes because he has plans for them. The song the girls sang is written by Effie's (Jennifer Hudson) brother and it is set in the 1960's this film. Curtis tries to persuade Jimmy Early (Eddie Murphy) an R&B singer at the time to take on the Dreamettes as back up singers for him. Soon they have released a successful single together and Effie starts seeing Curtis and Jimmy begins an affair with Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose) the third girl in the Dreamettes.
Curtis soon becomes Jimmy's manager and makes the Dreamettes an act of their own, no longer back up singers to Jimmy. He also renames them 'The Dreams' and wants them to have a more pop sound but this is where trouble starts as Curtis wants to make Deena the lead singer now not Effie and she gets jealous and offended. Effie feels pushed out of the spotlight and although the group do well and do their first few shows as a group soon the problems begin from here onwards.
The soundtrack to this film was really good; Jennifer Hudson was an amazing singer and surprised me with her powerful voice. Beyonce as always had great vocals and I really liked the music in this film. It was all representative of the 1960's and is all catchy with brilliant vocals. The soundtrack is available to buy and Beyonce won a few awards for her singing in this film. I also like how it turns into a bit of a musical with them singing their lines into powerful musical numbers and their feelings become stronger portrayed this way because through the musical notes we can really feel the hurt or anger of whoever is singing and this was effective.
The film was nothing like I'd expected I thought it was just going to be about a band and their success at the time and just all full of boring singing but the plot ended up being really quite strong.
Jennifer Hudson to me stole the show with her acting, she was a strong character and I definitely felt for her when Deena was asked to do the lead singing. She has an amazing voice and her life as the film goes on shows her as determined and I thought Hudson took on the role well and made Effie seem strong and courageous. It is no surprise that the majority of awards won for this film have been thanks to Jennifer Hudson winning at least twenty or more awards for Best Breakthrough Female at the Oscars, Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA's proving her talent furthermore.
Beyonce was also surprisingly good in the role she actually took on a character for once in this film and as well as being a great singer she showed more human skills. She was strong with the musical career but wasn't going to be pushed around and stuck up for herself. I also thought Jamie Foxx was great as Curtis the manager he was wanting success and kept pushing the singers to how he felt would gain success. However, he was being too pushy and would drop anyone right away if it wasn't good for him. Not only do we see the business side of his role but also the loving side too.
Eddie Murphy I usually see in comedy role but here he was good playing the part of Jimmy, great voice and also a different role for him but he played it with ease and it was quite challenging for him.
I'd definitely say this is one of the better films I have seen recently. A great plot and it passed the few hours by really quickly. The acting was great and it really deserves the awards it got. It showed the price people pay for fame, relationships and how they develop or go downhill. It also shows how hard it is to keep in with the times and reinvent yourself and how much passion these people have and what it truly means to them.
The film is on DVD and can be purchased for £5.98 on Amazon for the 1 disc edition. There is also a 2 disc edition costing £8.99 on Play.com. It is a 12A certificate and lasts approximately 131 minutes.
musicalDreamgirls, which centres around a young female singing trio who burst upon the music scene in the '60s, complete with bouffant hairdos, glitzy gowns, and a soul so...
musicalDreamgirls, which centres around a young female singing trio who burst upon the music scene in the '60s, complete with bouffant hairdos, glitzy gowns, and a soul so...
![Dreamgirls (1 Disc Edition) [2006]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/65171603.jpg)
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