Dreamgirls Review

Well we had the director's outing last week. Me, Diana, Ansis, Jas, Charm and Anna (The last two however didn't make it until the latter part). We had fun, even without the two goodie-tooshoes who had to stay for practice (yah I'm talking to you guys!!! -_-) Hahaha! Anyway, the day ended with Dreamgirls which I review now, and while I'm sure Jas already has the song out of her head, I'm afraid I cannot say otherwise about myself. :D

Based on the 1960's Broadway of the same title, the movie accounts the lives of the rise and fall of several singers including James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy) and of course the main characters, The Dreams (Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose).

Well the first thing I have to say is that the visuals work really nicely. The sets are magnificent and flashy, half the time we were gawking at the stage than at the gals singing on it.

That's not to say the singing wasn't nice. It was actually very brilliant. I loved the soundtrack and the music really tugs at you. Well written and played, both new and old pieces. I was sent looking for all the songs the moment I got home. The thing is however, I've done the same thing with previous musicals so it doesn't really mean anything new.

One of the greatest points of the film is the acting. While everyone did a deccent job, Knowles doing a slightly better performance than what I thought her capable of, two people stole the limelight. Firs off is Eddie Murphy in a very serious role that presents a new side of Murphy's acting chops unlike any we've seen before. We see Eddie sad, melancholic, vulnerable and human. No disrespect to Mr Alan Arkin but I feel Murphy really should have gotten an Oscar for this.

The second got the oscar and deservingly so. Although I feel that part of her acting brilliance here is due to the song itself, Jennifer Hudson's pieces in the film were the only songs that nearly brought a tear to my eye and wrung my soul. Though some of the songs really touches the heart (like Patience and Listen) only Hudson makes you feel that much intensity of human emotions that brought life to this movie. Because otherwise, the movie would have been very lacking.

The movie is not however without its flaws. It is probably most compared to Chicago, which won the Best Picture award a few years ago and jumpstarted the return of the musicals in film. After watching the movie, it seems quite obvious that the darker and grittier Chicago is the superior and Rob Marshal the better at this round with Bill Condon.

What are the flaws? Well for one thing, Bill Condon has some seriously flawed pacing. While the movie seemed to go along smoothly in terms of story, it began to drag at the center. Not because of the writings, no, but because of the songs. The songs aren't bad, but unlike Chicago most of the songs here actually sound like each other. Thus there are many scenes in which Condon switches from one scene to another by directly connecting songs. At first it kind of flows smoothly, the rich music helps there. But after a while I actually started to wish they just say the lyrics than sing it. Again not because they were bad.

Also, although the screenplay included all the necessary parts, it seemed to me that it wasn't stretched to its greatest capabilities. Jimmy's part could have used some additional scenes for example, I would have loved to see more of Jimmy. Also, while emotional impacts was strong in the songs, it wasn't so in the script. They seemed to be thrown around frivolously as if trying to hit a random bullseye and hoping we shed a tear. Doesn't work that way. As I said, the only reason the movie managed to have some emotional content was on the songs and performances.

Also, I would have loved to see some nice choreography. True, many of the songs are more fitting for just singing performances without any dancing, but there were some songs such as Cadilac Car that just screamed for some flash of the arm or leg. There were a few, though not nearly enough and again I am reminded of the great choreography employed in Chicago. If it were not for the dazzling stage designs (which also began to get slightly old at one point) the songs would have gotten old despite their great quality. This is a movie, not a cd soundtrack for listening, I want a nice variety of visuals to go along with the audio!

But then again, most of those were just being picky. There is no doubt this movie was incredible and I am astounded it did not make the Best Picture Category. It was certainly entertainging yet filled with quality. Sure it wasn't a classical musical, it still is however a well made on.

My end point?

8.5 out of 10