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Dreamgirls

Review By: Benjamin Lee
BenjaminLee@TheCinemaSource.com

It can all be traced back to 2001 when Moulin Rouge opened and surprised just about everyone. The adventurous and triumphant return of the musical was a box office winner and garnered 8 Oscar nominations, including 2 wins. It was a shock to the system for Hollywood who had long forgotten the musical had ever even existed since they grieved its passing back in the 1970s.

Chicago followed in 2002 and stormed the Oscars although others, mainly Rent, The Producers and Phantom of the Opera, have stalled. It’s a difficult genre to get right. Many modern movie viewers have a problem watching characters burst into song, without there being a hint of irony involved. Which brings me to one of the most anticipated films of the season, Dreamgirls.

It’s arriving with more hype than any other awards contender around. Ever since a 20 minute preview was met with rapturous applause at Cannes this past summer, everyone is tipping the movie, based on the 1980s Broadway hit, to sweep the board at the upcoming Oscar ceremony. Although a lack of substance didn’t seem to hurt Chicago‘s Oscar potential, for me it made for a hollow experience. All razzle dazzle and nothing more. Could Dreamgirls achieve the impossible and combine real emotion with all the surface show tunes?

Deena (Beyonce Knowles) is a dreamer. Along with her two group-members, the Dreamettes are looking for any break they can get. Curtis (Jamie Foxx) is a businessman. Fed up of selling cars, he’s looking for his way into the industry. Jimmy (Eddie Murphy) is a performer. But his R&B routine isn’t getting him the mainstream success he so badly craves.

When Curtis spots the Dreamettes at a talent contest he persuades Jimmy’s manager Marty (Danny Glover) to use them as backing singers for his upcoming tour. The group jump at the chance and are transported across the country, living their dream. Soon Curtis is intent on turning them into a separate outfit and it’s a decision that will change their lives forever.

Dreamgirls tells a story we’ve seen many times before. The rise to success, but with trouble and strife along the way. It’s not a hard plot to predict from the very beginning but that’s not to say there aren’t simple pleasures to be had here. It may be a familiar tale but it’s a consistently satisfying one to watch. It helps that it’s done with such energy and effervescence. The musical numbers leap off the screen and the film moves at a swift pace, at least in the early stages.

Deena Jones is a role Beyonce claims she ‘was born to play’ and I wouldn’t argue with her. She plays it well, but then it’s not that much of a stretch for her. Deena Jones is an ambitious ...