Relive the magic, the singing, and of course…the dreams.
Like me, if a person has never seen 2006’s Dreamgirls, they should go into it knowing that the movie delivers exactly what you’d expect it to. There are lush costumes, elaborate set designs, and one grandiose musical number after another, all of which are at the top of their game here. Flowing throughout is an unstoppable buoyant energy which helps to move the story along, at times carrying the film when the flimsy script cannot. Indeed, as exuberant as the film is, some Broadway musicals just weren’t meant to be opened up beyond their stage origins. However, as Dreamgirls shows, that isn’t necessarily the worst thing.
Loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Dreamgirls charts the rise of a black female singing group known as the Dreams. Consisting of the lovely Deena (Beyonce Knowles), headstrong Effie (Jennifer Hudson), and plucky Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), the film opens with car salesman/aspiring manager Curtis (Jamie Foxx) taking the girls from obscurity to superstardom. Along the way, the film shows the downside of the group’s journey, from working as backup singers for the wild James Early Jr. (Eddie Murphy) to the eventual dissent which threatens to tear them apart.
As pretty as Dreamgirls is, the film isn’t without its problems. At more than a few times, the movie feels a little too frenetically paced, even for a musical. However, it never ceases to pull the audience into its world and wow even some of the genre’s most ardent naysayers with its music. The switch between realist and formalist musical film techniques is not made with the greatest of ease here, but the movie is saved by how great each sequence is made and performed. In fact, in the rare moments when the two blend, it’s pure magic. Still, there are too many monumental plot points and character turns which happen at the drop of a hat. The result gives the audience movie whiplash as they vainly try to hard to keep up with it all. Not helping matters is the pile of hopeless cliches the characters of Dreamgirls must endure, including racism, drug abuse, spousal abuse, and jealousy.
Enough about the minuses; Dreamgirls has far too many pluses to get lost in. For one, everyone is given the perfect movie star entrance, such as Effie coming in and acting like a diva without having even made it yet, Deena running and fretting because she’s late, Curtis standing in the shadows smoking, and Jimmy putting out a cigarette in a sandwich while complaining about mayonnaise. The film has buckets of style and panache thanks to Bill Condon’s direction and approach to the story of the Dreamgirls. This is especially true in the music with every song, no matter how innocuous, containing enough fire and soul for a dozen showstopping finales. Dreamgirls possesses a somewhat inauspicious start for a film of this genre, which feels ill fitting at first. Yet soon after, it becomes apparent that the film is much like the act itself: unpolished in looks, but heavy in musical punch.
Dreamgirls is far from an easy film for a performer to excel in. Yet the caliber of work Condon manages from his cast largely makes up for some of shortcomings which plague the movie. Foxx plays the perfect svengali, making for a dynamic contrast to Knowles’s earnestness. Rose amiably takes us on her character’s journey of life and the growth that comes with it, and Murphy is a thunderous force of charm and manic energy. Yet it’s Hudson who is the film’s real star, proving to be an explosive natural, even managing to outshine Knowles at certain points.
Like any good musical, the songs in Dreamgirls do their best at helping to chart the journey of the people on the screen. Numbers such as “When I First Saw You” and “I’m Telling You” illustrate the creation of a superstar and the fierce act of defiance in ways that even the most eloquently written scenes never could have achieved. At the same time, songs such as “Listen” and “Love You I Do” encompass the spirit of the classic musical through gusto, soul, and heart. Dreamgirls may not be perfect, but it’s something even better; it’s just right.
The Package
This release of Dreamgirls contains previously deleted musical numbers and extra footage not released theatrically.
The Lowdown
Although not the strongest film adaptation of a stage musical, Dreamgirls is easy to get swept away by.
Dreamgirls is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Home Entertainment.
