Hard to say...

Rating: 7/10 (9 June 2007)

When Stanley Kubrick was busy with his sex-exploring film "Eyes Wide Shut", people expected a blazing erotic passion throughout the film. When the film turned out to be a slow exploration of themes concerning sex, the audiences were frustrated, and liked it less as a result of it not being what was expected.
I never entirely understood why this was so, but now I get it. This is my opinion on "Dreamgirls". I was expecting something like "Ray"; an almost-accurate portrayal of the Supremes. What I saw was a fictionalized musical. Don't get me wrong, I liked Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson in this film, and they both deserved their nominations (Which is far more than I can say about Alan Arkin's win). The music was very well done, and the cutthroat music business run by Jamie Foxx' character was cleverly done.
Due to my realization at it not being what I had thought it was, I watched the film with a bit of a biased look. The music was well done, but I didn't like it when the beginnings of some songs were portrayed as conversation. It frustrated me a bit, but I have no bad opinion about either Hudson's or Murphy's singing, the latter of which surprised me.
Do not go into this film expecting a historical account like "Ray"; expect something more along the lines of "Fiddler on the Roof"; a musical set in a past era of troubles and mistrust.