Review of Dreamgirls (2006) by Michael K — 03 Aug 2011

Man this was awful. Initially I thought it was a loosely based Supremes biopic before I realised that it was going to be a sleek reproduction of black music as seen through the eyes and ears of American Idol.

There were some good points, the production design was pretty impressive and most of the acting performances were solid. Sadly the dialogue and, most importantly, the music fell well short of giving the concept any credibility.

Since watching the film Iâ??ve found out that itâ??s based on a Broadway show which doesnâ??t even make things clearer for me. Iâ??ve seen Broadway adaptations and many of them have the odd good song in them which is not the case with Dreamgirls.

Itâ??s one thing trying to imitate the sounds of Motown, it is another to ditch imitating and replacing it with over-produced millennium Râ??nâ?? B thatâ??s severely lack in melody, groove and energy.

This is what mainstream American culture has been doing to soul music for years i.e. making my ears bleed.