Dreamgirls (2006)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Bill Condon

Writers:

Bill Condon (screenplay)
Tom Eyen (book)

Release Date:

25 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical

Tagline:

Fame Comes And Goes, Stars Rise And Fall, But Dreams Live Forever

Plot:

Based on the Broadway musical, a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960's.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | 1960s | Broadway Musical | Star | Performer

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 42 wins & 46 nominations

Cast

Jamie Foxx	...	Curtis Taylor Jr.
Beyoncé Knowles	...	Deena Jones
Eddie Murphy	...	James 'Thunder' Early
Danny Glover	...	Marty Madison
Jennifer Hudson	...	Effie White
Anika Noni Rose	...	Lorrell Robinson
Keith Robinson	...	C.C. White
Sharon Leal	...	Michelle Morris
Hinton Battle	...	Wayne
Mariah I. Wilson	...	Magic (as Mariah Wilson)
Yvette Cason	...	May
Ken Page	...	Max Washington
Ralph Louis Harris	...	M.C. (as Ralph Harris)
Michael-Leon Wooley	...	Tiny Joe Dixon
Loretta Devine	...	Jazz Singer

Also Known As:

Dream Girls (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug content.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | UK:12A (theatrical release) | Australia:M | Germany:o.Al. | Finland:K-7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Norway:A | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Sweden:Btl | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Alexandria Hotel - 501 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Bill Condon attended the opening night performance of the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" at the Imperial Theatre, New York City, on 20 December 1981.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the montage, the entry in the charts does not make sense. The song is #1 in its first week, but it was also #8 the previous week.

Quotes:

Case Worker: Have you considered asking the girl's father for help?
Effie Melody White: Magic don't have a father.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "I exafanisi: (#1.1)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Hard to Say Goodbye

Terrific adaptation that stands on its own.

I saw a preview screening of Dreamgirls on Nov. 15. and have to say I was pretty blown away by it. I can always tell when a movie really hits me because the thought immediately runs through my head, "Wow, I can't wait to OWN this on DVD." Needless to say, Dreamgirls is now at the top of my "To Buy" list.

I saw the original Michael Bennett production in 1985, a few years into its Broadway run when Jennifer Holliday was no longer in the Effie role. But even without Holliday I found the show and its score to be among Broadway's best. While I certainly hoped this movie would at least give us a respectable representation of what made the Broadway show so thrilling, I must admit I was afraid to get my expectations too high after the recent string of disappointing stage to screen musical transfers - Phantom of the Opera, Rent and The Producers. Yeah, I had heard the buzz was good for Dreamgirls, but, well, you know how that goes. Sometimes the bigger the buzz the flatter it falls.

And let's face it. Movie musicals are just flat-out tough to pull off. While I consider the number of truly great movies to be pretty small, the list of truly great movie MUSICALS is even smaller. And the ones that manage to do more than just recreate a literal adaptation of the stage play, truly utilizing the medium of film to create something bold and cinematic are almost non existent: Cabaret, Chicago...maybe one or two others...end of story. Plus, I think it's even more difficult to successfully transfer musicals to film today given modern audiences inability to accept characters "breaking into song."

So I hope I'm not adding to the already extensive hype when I report that, for me at least, Dreamgirls delivers big time. The film manages to achieve the near impossible task of remaining faithful to it's source material (in fact, several times it gives direct nods to Bennett's brilliant original staging) while utilizing the medium of film to it's fullest, creating something fresh and exciting in its own right.

Dreamgirls not only transitions seamlessly between spoken dialog and musical numbers, but redefines musical storytelling by using the musical artifice of "breaking into song" carefully and judiciously to punctuate only those moments in the movie when the emotion builds to the point where words can no longer adequately contain it. I can't express strongly enough how impressed I was with the way Bill Condon managed to handle these transitions. Truly masterful. But it's not just the transitions that are handled well. The movie is artfully rendered and exquisitely produced in literally every area with outstanding, heartfelt performances by each and every cast member. And yes, Jennifer Hudson is as good as they say. I can honestly say that there's no way I can imagine this film being done any better.

If there's any weak spot in Dreamgirls, it's the dramatic flaws inherent in the piece itself. The second act of the stage play (after "and I'm telling you I'm not going") was never quite as dramatically intense or focused as the first. And the movie feels pretty much the same way. But, believe me, this is a minor flaw compared to what's RIGHT about Dreamgirls.

Make no mistake. This film is going to be a triumph and earn a place in movie history. Not to mention my DVD library.