Not a Good Musical. Average Movie. And Yes, Highly Overrated Too !

Rating: Null/10 (22 March 2010)

And when I say average, it's a way to talk sweet about what I don't want to call bad!
The journey of (The Supremes), a trio of female singers from the 1960s to the 1970s, has turned into a Broadway musical, then that musical itself has turned into a Hollywood movie. So, I went to watch the movie to see the drama of that musical, the background of these ages, and how all of that was cinematically portrayed. But the outcome made me shut it off after its middle, and while being a very devoted and patient viewer myself, I didn't have any interest to complete it. After months, I ran into it again, to force myself to complete it; whether to prove my initial viewpoint wrong, or assure that I was right. And boy, I was so right!
Let us see the story. With attractive time periods, and singing dialogues, the script didn't manage to be any close to attractive. It deals with everything in great tepidity. The scenes are perfunctory and cold. The moving of the songs in on the flat, so laconic, lines seemed pure annoying and loud. Let alone that these songs weren't excellent in the first place.
True the performances seemed good, yet in the very tight limits of that script. The thing is the writing did a weak job to explore its material, or reach any credibility or intimacy. What kind of movie that gives no details to its characters, or no characters?! To instance; why Eddie Murphy went to drugs, or cheated on his wife for years? So, after his death, while hearing a full song to elegize someone that we didn't know, you have to feel tedium! You can say that again about Lorrell; the band's third party. Beyoncé as Deena becomes so rich and famous, not knowing how awful the life of her previous co-singer Effie turned into, however she suddenly concerns, when she suddenly discovers that she sang Effie's song unaware it was hers! So was she opportunist from the start, or just extremely blind? All of these questions and more were caused by what seemed as opportunist blind script!
As for the directing, noting was magnificent. Handling the matters was so usual to a degree which made it poor to watch. It got no style to it, or personal touch. Even the dexterity of factors like the customs, the make-up, etc, which's natural in A-level Hollywood movie, deepened the fact about how the direction added zero. I don't recall one super sequence. The musical parts are anything but distinct; they felt like old TV variety show with just good cameras this time. As you see, that cinematic interpretation lacked being real cinematic. Sure with names like (Oliver Stone) or (Tim Burton) that should have been more interesting and artistic.
Hence I was watching a frigid docu-drama with bright image and Hollywood stars. Or, at best, a hasty operetta with high budget and shadows of leads and drama. Both ways, I discovered in the end that I wasn't given much time to feel the characters, or the subject, fine. In fact, the movie ends naively, but I was glad though, since that uninteresting movie which I was watching came to an end anyway. So in general, some colors dazzled me, but nothing else did.
Still what got on my nerves badly was the way this movie was praised and Oscared. I adore the musicals. Therefore imagine my tragedy with the last 40 years' movies. Then imagine my joy lately with big musical movies from Hollywood again, and my multiple concern considering their fewness too; (Moulin Rouge), (Chicago), and (Sweeney Todd). Therefore, I went to watch (Dreamgirls) to be highly disappointed. Save couple of songs, (Jennifer Hudson)'s only vocal performance, and seeing (Eddie Murphy) doing well in non-comedic role, this movie is in the bottom of the list; whether as entertaining or effective.
P.S: I hated the movie's internal claim that the disco music was a refused degeneration for the real black music, as if it was a cheap exploitation of it, that obliterated its personality (??!!). If that was the opinion, then I have to refuse it itself. Art is freedom, renovation and discovery. Nothing can obliterate anything. And, simply, I love the disco music.