Based loosely enough on the rise and fall of Diana Ross and the Supremes to avoid a lawsuit, this film tells the tale of a trio of young black women trying to break into the early 60s R&B music scene.Dreamgirls was originally a Broadway musical and its film adaptation has been a long time coming. The stage show took Broadway by storm in 1981. Thanks to recent successful movie-musicals like Chicago and biopics like Ray and Walk the Line, Dreamgirls finally gets its day in the sun.
Through the first half of the film (the first Act of the show, really) we see the naïve and aspiring Dreamettes go from being not even a blip on anyone’s radar and playing local talent contests, to singing backup for a hit singer and eventually breaking through to the white radio markets on their own. During this process the writers treat us to little doses of history- payola, civil and racial unrest, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the difficulty for black artists to succeed due to poor copyright protection that allowed white artists to snag a hit from black radio and convert it for a white-friendly audience.
The sizzle and pop of the songs and the excellent set and costume designs made me wonder how on Earth the Academy failed to nominate this film for Best Picture. Then came the second Act.
Actually, the momentum died at the end of the first Act, where Jennifer Hudson’s Effie is disgruntled about no longer being lead vocalist (making Beyonce Knowels the ‘face’ of the group) and her bad attitude has finally cost her a place in the group. She discovers that she is being replaced and throws a diva fit, to which her manager and friends interject by singing their dialogue. Up to this point, all the songs had been performance numbers by the group or other artists, so when they began to unfurl their exposition and dialogue via song, my affection for the film dropped a notch. Sure, this sort of style works in movie-musicals from the 60’s and earlier, but now it just seems cheesy. The Academy fruitballs and the Broadway fruitballs can defend sing-songy exposition all they want, but it just doesn’t jive with me. At least not for contemporary films.
The second Act seems to drag, as Effie manages to drop off the face of the Earth for much of the time, and we are instead tuned into the struggle of the group and of Beyonce’s character. Updates on what Effie’s life has been like since the split are shown, but they don’t add to the roundness of the character. Another major issue with the second Act is the jump in time from the close of Act one. We go from the 60s to the 70s and very little compensation is given for the 8-year leap. Characters look no older and it seems that the filmmakers didn’t even bother trying to do so.
A lot of noise was made about Beyonce’s role in the film and many were buzzing early on about potential Golden Globe and Academy Awards nominations for her. She got nothing, which I find hysterical, because she didn’t deserve any in the first place. Beyonce does a good job playing the innocent, pretty, sweet-sounding singer, because she is one. She’s not an actress, so why did people think she was so great at a part she could play because it was barely a stretch from how she really is? Frankly, she’s forgettable, as Effie is a much more interesting character, and Hudson was rightfully recognized for her astounding performance (take that, American Idol).
Dreamgirls starts off as a tour de force, appealing to the eyes and ears alike. They aim for the fence and come out swinging for the home run, but the story progresses away from the most interesting character, only to bring her back in the final scenes to provide a standard sappy happy ending. It is still a very excellent film, but I can understand why the Academy did not nominate it for Best Picture.
Look for some head-turning performances by Hudson and Eddie Murphy, and a keen eye will spot Steve Urkel himself (Jaleel White) amongst the who’s-who ensemble black cast.
RATING: 3.75 out of 5
