DREAMGIRLS
RYAN: I’m almost afraid to review this film with you because it may be painful for me.
CAROLINE: Ditto. It’s gonna be painful for me.
RYAN: Mmm hmm.
CAROLINE: I didn’t think this movie was all that.
RYAN: I think it’s one of the best films of the year. It’s “Dreamgirls”!
CAROLINE: This is not a film. It’s a sequence of performances strung together with the occasional montage and a few scenes of acting.
RYAN: Untruer words were never spoken!
CAROLINE: However, the performances are excellent. The singing is great. Even Jamie Foxx, who I can’t stand, is very good. But this does not translate to the big screen at all.
RYAN: Wrong. This film brilliantly brought the stage version to a whole new level. The story is dramatic and fluid; about relationships, the struggles and dirty politics of the music industry; loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes… It’s completely wonderful.
CAROLINE: …
RYAN: When “Chicago” went from stage to screen, they had to reinterpret the material, filming all musical numbers as imagined through the mind of Roxie Hart – in order to sell it. But the songs in “Dreamgirls” are often actual performance pieces, which also further the plot lyrically while rocking juicy musical numbers…
CAROLINE: Eh…I wasn’t feeling it after a while.
RYAN: And visually, the film is just stunning. The camera movement often reminded me of my favorite director, Robert Zemeckis.
CAROLINE: I will say that the costumes were awesome. Jennifer Hudson is pudgy. And Beyonce has never looked skinnier ‘cos, as we all know, she lost 20 lbs. for this role. So it’s a Beyonce you’ve never seen before.
RYAN: Was her performance better than you thought it would be?
CAROLINE: I was expecting her to be godawful and she was actually tolerable. There were only a couple of scenes where I actually cringed at her bad acting.
RYAN: But that scene during the photo shoot and she does all those different looks… who’s more beautiful than she is then?
CAROLINE: Oh! She looked amazing!
RYAN: Exquisitely gorgeous.
CAROLINE: She should be thanking her make-up artist – big time.
RYAN: Yes. And I loved seeing Hinton Battle get some work in a small role. He was the original Scarecrow in “The Wiz” on Broadway.
CAROLINE: He also won a Tony for “Miss Saigon.”
RYAN: Oh.
CAROLINE: It is shocking that Jennifer Hudson is nominated for a Golden Globe in a supporting category.
RYAN: Totally!!
CAROLINE: She has a much bigger part than Beyonce.
RYAN: Please. She has, like, seven songs to Beyonce’s two. I heard something like Beyonce diva’d out and demanded it in her contract that the studio would push for her in the leading category… Anyway. Bottom line?
CAROLINE: I did not love this movie. It was only two hours but it felt much longer. I was waiting for it to end. I really thought everyone did an amazing job with their singing, but I didn’t love Jennifer Hudson’s acting during her big number. She didn’t know what to do with her hands and she had a big bruise on her leg which was distracting. But the voices are really incredible. And Eddie Murphy! What a showman! That was fun to see.
RYAN: This is in my top five films of 2006. I abbasolutley love this movie. I’ve seen it twice already and am looking forward to seeing it again on the big screen and eventually owning it on DVD. Anyone who enjoys sheer entertainment, musicals or likes these performers, you’re gonna love it.