A Good Film, But too Many Songs!!!

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2007)

Going into "Dreamgirls" I didn't know what to expect. It has a great cast, great production design, a decent plot,good singers, and only one really major problem. There are too many flashy musical numbers.
"Dreamgirls" is all about Motown music. It's very flashy, very over-the-top, and very much over-filled with crowd-pleasing moments. The movie has a lot of deep themes about racism, weight problems, and drug abuse. The problem is, the movie is coated with so much glamor and glitz that these ideas can't really shine through as well as they should.
The songs in the movie are very numerous, popping up almost every other second. Some of them are fitting and fun, especially the Jennifer Hudson songs. However, there are a lot of random musical numbers that occur in the middle of conversations. There are also some that seem like out-of-place sickly sweet show-tunes. What saves this film from being destroyed by these ridiculous and lengthy numbers is the star-studded cast.
Jennifer Hudson is lovable, sassy, powerful, and heart-driven as Effie White. Her rendition of "And I am Telling..." is breath-taking. A lot of the people in the theater where I saw the movie were bawling their heads off. Hudson's performance is nicely complimented by Eddie Murphy's over-the-top rendition of Jimmy Early. He should've nabbed the Oscar for his great singing and dancing,as well of his showing of Early's darker side.
The funny thing about the acting in this movie is that the two main supporting roles (Murphy and Hudson) overshadow the two leading roles (Foxx and Beyonce). Jamie and Beyonce are both good, but they're acting as overall shallow characters, and have no real connection. Still, this is part of a major theme in the film, and their restrained performances do make sense.
Overall, "DreamGirls" is no "Chicago", but it is a well-acted and fun piece of work.