Review of Dreamgirls (2006) by Jessica Y — 16 Mar 2010

This could have been really excellent. There are some great performances through the cast: Eddie Murphy is terrific; Beyonce displays some fine acting chops and is a genuinely good singer; Anika Noni Rose (whom I'd only ever seen in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency) is a revelation; and despite perhaps the weakest voice of the ensemble, Jamie Foxx is great as Curtis Taylor, the seedy low-life manager who climbs to great heights by means foul and fair.

It's also fun spotting the Motown characters and references: Diana Ross & The Supremes, James Brown, Berry Gordy, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson.

Jennifer Hudson also has decent acting potential and a fine pair of lungs, but OMG doesn't the director let us know it. The first half of the film is great, with some well-staged performance songs alongside nice plot development. But from the interminable "I'm not going" where Ms Hudson bellows hysterically to pretty much everyone and noone, it all goes downhill.

The songs become more and more anachronistic - they're suddenly mostly American Idol/X Factor ballads with singers screaming and whooping at the camera. All the subtlety goes out the window, and any moments of character development get lost within all the noise. 20 minutes shorter would have made this a much better, tighter film, but it's still pretty enjoyable nonetheless.