In what is truly his most impressive and most worthwhile role to
date, Murphy twists and shouts through his role as a James Brown-esque
soul singer (who, funnily enough, claims he did what he did before
Brown ever came on the scene) whose struggle to make the transition out
of the clubs and onto the record chats ultimately expunges whatever
dignity he had left. As James “Thunder” Early, Murphy belts out some
marvellous songs, gets some gargantuan laughs, and even, heaven forbid,
has you feeling for the poor bugger.
A true testament to how
good Murphy is in the role of soul singer Early (though, in many
respects, he is just rehashing his James Brown shtick from Saturday
Night Live and his singing preacher from Coming to America) is the fact that his co-stars are as solid as frozen butter.
There isn’t one performance in Dreamgirls that stinks of line reading or languidness. And yet, you’ll remember Murphy most vividly.
Let’s
not forget the terrific ensemble though: Beyonce Knowles sings her
sweet little heart out as our Diana Ross-type, Danny Glover makes sure
you remember him for his role as a veteran manager, Jamie Foxx packs a
punch as the green-eyed producer, and most notably, newcomer Jennifer
Hudson (an American Idol contestant!) is a marvel to behold as a masked talent that suffers for her sisters.
Hudson,
along with Murphy, deserves more than just applause for her performance
in the film – she deserves statues, and several of them. Both the
larger-than-life actress/singer and the former 80s comedy icon give
what are likely the best turns you’ll see this year.
Just realised. Haven’t even talked about the film yet.
Now, why is that?
Well,
there’s a reason for that and it’s because it’s that kind of movie –
it’s all about the performances, much more so than the story. In fact,
there isn’t much of a story here at all – at least nothing you haven’t
seen before.
Loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Bill Condon (Chicago, Kinsey) written/directed Dreamgirls
is set in the turbulent early 1960s to mid-70s, and follows the rise of
a trio of women (Effie, Deena and Lorrell) who have formed a promising
girl band. With their former car salesman turned manager making all
their career decisions and pushing them as far as they can be pushed,
the ‘Dreamettes’ eventually give in and just go with it: Even if that
means losing friends in doing so, and putting duds before dignity.
Without
it’s all-star cast, lavish production values and marvellous songs (not
one of them a stinker – which is rare in a contemporary musical), Dreamgirls
could’ve easily been the next movie-of-the-week on Hallmark, but it
isn’t. Sure, it could’ve done with a punchier and more eventful script,
but when every other planet is aligned, you can excuse one for not
shining as brightly. And better still, you’ll fall in love with Eddie
Murphy all over again.
Better than any concert you attended this year.
EXTRASExtras on the DVD - which, by the way, really packs a punch in terms of
how great it looks and sounds! - include numerous featurettes (the best
one is the 2-hour 'Building the Dream' making-of) on the making of the
movie; extended and alternate scenes; auditions and screentests;
pre-visualization stuff, and your typical plug for the soundtrack. Fans
of the tunes will be glad to know that you can choose to sit through
each entire song, rather than simply see an edited version of it (the
way it appears in the film), too. Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 60% 
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