LogFAQs > #933785549

8. Dreamgirls

JONA: 4
KBM: 4
Inviso: 5
Genny: 7
Johnbobb: 21
Karo: 26
Scarlet: 28

JONA - This films a great look into the history of Motown and the Supremes. I love how the songs change in genre in accordance with the time period theyre in. The drama of the music industry and the characters is engaging and the musics great. Jennifer Hudsons performance in And I Am Telling You Im Not Going is fantastic.
Favorite Song: Cadillac Car

KBM - Why I Chose It: Heavily inspired by the true stories of various Motown and R&B acts, the hit 1981 musical Dreamgirls, which won six of its 13 Tony nominations, was planned to be made into a film as early as the mid-'80s. It wasn't until 2006, however, that this big-screen adaptation finally saw the light of day, as adapted by Chicago screenwriter Bill Condon. The film was received very positively, garnering all sorts of awards and nominations, including two Oscar wins and three Golden Globes. Jennifer Hudson won an Academy Award for her universally-praised performance as Effie White, and Eddie Murphy (who won most other major Supporting Actor awards) was nominated for the first (and so far, only) time in his career, for his performance as Jimmy Early.

My Thoughts: Dreamgirls is just fantastic. I kind of don't even know how to go into much more detail than that; this is one of the few that I somehow hadn't actually seen before putting together this list, and in watching it, I was just swept away by the music, the story, the performances all of it was just exceptional. Hudson is obviously astounding, particularly her showstopping performances of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going and One Night Only, but the rest of the cast is truly great as well Anika Noni Rose being particularly underrated here (as she is just in general). The three-part harmonies between Hudson, Rose, and Beyonc just had me melting. And it's a great story, too, made all the more believable from having been based on factual accounts, but unlike most such shows, this isn't a jukebox musical, so the songs actually fit without having to be forced to. When it was over, it left me wanting more, wishing it'd been longer, and though it's definitely not the longest movie on this list, at 130 minutes, that's still a feat.

Favorite Song: It's All Over and And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (they dovetail together so perfectly that it's hard for me to separate them in my mind, even though the latter is frequently performed on its own. If I had to choose ONE it'd be the latter, but the former is criminally underrated.)

Inviso - Going into the previous musical ranking, this was the biggest snub I could think of, which seemed especially odd, given that there were so few strong showings for musicals in the 2000s. But I had never seen it before, outside of Jennifer Hudsons brilliant performance of And I Am Telling You Im Not Going. Needless to say, Im glad this this ranking rectified that oversight. There are almost no missteps in this film. It manages to perfectly convey the rise and fall of MULTIPLE characters over the course of their careers, as they break into the pop music scene. Effie is a diva, of course, yet she still manages to come across as sympathetic. Shes naturally gifted as a singer, but she doesnt have the kind of look that appeals to audiences, resulting in her getting shunted aside in favor of Beyonce. The same is true for Eddie Murphys character, which has a far sadder conclusion with his drug overdose. Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx plays a great conman, rising to great heights, only to get smacked back down to Earth when he just couldnt allow control to slip from his grasp. Throw in some fun and lively songs, and this wound up being an exceptional addition to the list.

Genny - I've seen Dreamgirls at least a dozen times. I am sure several of the crew will rave about Jennifer Hudson's showstopper of a number as they should, but in my opinion there wasn't a weak link in the cast. Anika Noni Rose and Beyonc Knowles deliver some stellar alto-soprano support, which is actually a difficult feat to accomplish considering how challenging it is to be subtle in the higher ranges, and Jaime Foxx manages to be a decent villain walking the line between despicable and relatable. However the real standout performance came from a most unexpected source for me: Eddie Murphy. To date Jimmy Early is my favorite role of his, an opinion charon would find blasphemous I'm sure.

Johnbobb - Eddie Murphy is pretty shockingly good. Jennifer Hudson was also impressive, but the rest of the cast are... mostly fine? Overall decent, but the movie just kind of felt... there. I can't think of much in the way of specific issues I had with it. It's good! Just good though.
Favorite song: And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going

Karo - This movie adaptation of season three of American Idol follows the story of three african-american girls who want to be big stars, sponsored in part by the Cadillac Motor Company.
The trio starts out as backup singers for a music bigshot, and mercifully we have to endure very few bouts of Eddie Murphy's usual crack-fueled squealing before he dies of a drug overdose.
Anyway, Murphy was nothing compared to the film's real irritation in the form of the character of Effie, who is like a whiny self-centered millennial masquerading as a 1970's black woman.
Wahhh, I don't sing backup for nobody cuz I'm a star and my voice better than all you bitches and you just discriminatin' against me cuz I'm fat and you stole maaah dweeeeams!!!
Hey, shut the fuck up you stupid spoiled little diva princess, everything bad that happened to you is your own damn fault and you deserve it all.
The movie's saving grace is the music of its cool motown soundtrack, and it was always a relief to take a break from the terrible story for some musical balm. Well, except whenever it involved Jennifer Hudson, whose idea of singing is attempting to destroy every piece of glass and/or eardrum within a one mile radius.
This film is far from being a dream, in fact it is one step to the bad side removed from being a full on nightmare.

Score: 46/100

Best Song: 'Dreamgirls'

Scarlet - This movie is rooted by two particular anchors: first, do you like Eddie Murphy? For my money, his Oscar-nominated performance is flat and forced, by and large, lacking the charisma of Murphy that made him bankable in the 80s. The second anchor is whether or not you enjoy the period piece musical biopic, and as with Ray and Walk the Line, I find the stories of musicians yearning for success against a backdrop of Boomer spank bank material