Jennifer 1 vs. Jennifer 2

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2006)

DREAMGIRLS was a dazzling stage musical when it ran in the early '80's. It was a thinly veiled (if veiled at all) decade-long look at the career of Dina Jones and the Dreams, aka Diana Ross and the Supremes. Its strengths were eye-popping stage production, and a passable musical score, ranging from energetic disco to devastating ballads, made legendary by the vocal talents of the cast. OK, let's single out Jennifer Holiday, because she was the reason to see DREAMGIRLS with her tour de force performance.
The movie of DREAMGIRLS practically couldn't lose; all it had to do was match the spectacle and emotionality of the stage musical. Sadly, it falls short. Compounding this disappointment is the way it ratchets up the references to Diana Ross and Berry Gordy in a shameless, tacky way. No doubt people were driven in the early Motown years, and egos were created, but to overshadow the accomplishments in order to wallow in tabloidism (the weakest element of the musical), left a bad taste in my mouth. How much did the movie reference Diana? It superimposed the Dreams onto 4 actual album covers of the Supremes. It gave Dina an expletive-filled Diana-Ross-like diva moment with a movie producer, a trait not seen either before or after in this mostly sweet and demure character. And the movie's addition of the Jackson Five counterparts seemed to have a ridiculing edge.
What else the movie got wrong was the dazzle and excitement. The costumes and choreography were dull. The stage sets didn't exactly take your breath away. But the big question is: Was Jennifer Hudson the second coming of the original Jennifer? Well, if rangeless belting, without the nuance of J1, is your cup of tea, then J2 is for you.
There were a few redeeming moments. The opening scene, backstage at an amateur talent contest, was beautifully shot. Girls in their shimmering gowns glide in and out of light in the backstage darkness, like they were bio-luminescent deep sea fish. The Dreams first performance at the contest gave me an exciting anticipation of what was to come. Beyonce delivers a great vocal on "Listen". And Eddie Murphy was terrific as a singer and actor; his scene performing at an all-white nightclub in Miami was a standout.