4. DREAMGIRLS
(Photo and poster: Dreamworks/Paramount)
By Omar P.L. Moore/The
Popcorn Reel
What do you get when
you mix color, great acting, superb costumes, glamorous production design and
vibrant, foot-stomping soul music, r&b and disco? You get "Dreamgirls", a
rousing spectacle of sight, sound and fury. Great acting, great
choreography, cinematography, costumes, production design -- all the things that
make this film a scintillating spectacle. It is easy to forget that Bill
Condon's film is based on the famed Broadway musical of 1981, which starred the
incomparable Jennifer Holliday, as well as Anika Noni Rose (who won a Tony for
her performance, and who also stars as Lorrell in this new film) and Loretta
Devine as the original trio of dreamgirls. Devine appears in Condon's film
in a brief cameo, but the real stars of this show are Eddie Murphy and
especially Jennifer Hudson, who breaks through in a dramatic way as a newcomer
to the big screen with her show-stopping turn as Effie White.
Hudson's
already legendary seven-minute solo "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is the
crowning moment of a film that bears a performance for the ages in Ms. Hudson's
portrayal. Add to this Jamie Foxx, dazzling work from Beyonce Knowles (who
removes any trace of her musical persona from her acting here) and Danny Glover
and Keith Robinson and you have a electrifying film experience -- the best and
biggest crowd-pleaser of the year.
The PopcornReel.com film
review
of "Dreamgirls" first appeared on December 15, 2006.
