Surprisingly campy!

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2006)

After all the wonderful things I heard about this movie (the Golden Globes nods, the Oscar buzz) and the fact I'm an American Idol fan as well as a fan of Beyonce, I really wanted to like this movie, but by the time the closing credits rolled I found myself laughing with the rest of the audience about the sheer campiness of this flick. The characters were so clichéd and everything so melodramatic that I can't believe reviews praising this film for its fine acting and originality. By the end it was so over the top that at least the crowd I was with found it hard to take anything seriously. Jennifer Hudson is, of course, the stand out role and she really gives a show-stopping performance at one point that had the audience applauding, but it was her voice that received this reaction. Eddie Murphy was probably the next most interesting character, but nearly everyone else was considered laughable. Beyonce is a dead-ringer for Diana Ross by the end and the girl can sing, but if this is supposed to be Academy Award worthy acting then I must say she did a much better performance in Austin Power's Goldmember.
All and all the most overrated movie of the year, I'd wait for it on DVD before paying to see it in the theater.