A fun, technically accomplished, lavish musical with enough soul to prevent you from getting the blues.

Rating: 6/10 (5 February 2007)

"Music is supposed to sell" claims Jamie Foxx's dead-faced music producer when staring in the face of the physically unappealing but vocally rip-roaring Effie White. Such is the power of Jennifer Hudson's voice box, it is staggering to learn that she only finished 8th or 9th in American Pop Idol or whatever that show is called. And it is Hudson, despite the effortless screen presences of Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx, and the incredible singing talents of Beyonce Knowles - who walks away with both the acting and singing accolades from Dreamgirls - picking up a handsome Oscar-nom in the process.
Generally regarded as being inspired by the story of Diana Ross & The Supremes, Dreamgirls tells the tale of three girls who, after getting the gig of backup-singers to ageing, alcohol-friendly soul-singer Jimmy Early (Murphy, back on form), go through the trials and tribulations of becoming famous. The head of the trio is Effie White, a voluptuous and vocally bombastic singer who, after dating slimy producer Curtis Taylor Jr. (Foxx) is shafted as lead-singer in favour of the much more eye-friendly (but vocally bland) Deena Jones (Knowles). As the trio aim to become commercially successful without the aid of Early, Effie's bitterness towards both being shafted and her two-timing producer boyfriend, catches up with her. She finds herself out of the group, and out of a record deal, replaced with another thin, vocally-unremarkable singer, as the group continue their success without her.
There is a moment in Dreamgirls where Curtis Taylor actually sits his wife Deena down and tells her that the reason he chose her to sing lead was because "her voice has no personality". Whilst all of us in the real world know this not to be the case, it is interesting that Dreamgirls addresses the issue of the blandification of black music in order to appeal to a broad audience. As Deena Jones, the star and headliner of the group, Beyonce Knowles delivers a mannered performance that, although clearly showing that she is not a great actress, is full of energy and conviction. Jennifer Hudson's performance, however, is what gives this film its edge. We all knew Beyonce could sing, but by god can Hudson belt out a number or two.
With this film's typically accomplished technical achievements, it has a wonderfully colourful milieu, the cinematography capturing the mise-en-scene of the 60s and 70s wonderfully. Everything from the hairdos to the outfits, and the music itself fits the era it represents.
If I have a criticism of Dreamgirls - it is perhaps that, at the heart, this is still a musical - albeit not a great one. If you are familiar with the music of the Supremes, you may find the musical numbers in Bill Condon's film a little underwhelming, or even uninspiring. Eddie Murphy doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, but he performs his passable lyrics with enough verve to get you in the mood for all his wiggling - but none of the songs are well written, nor will they stay with you like Caberet (1972) or Evita (1995). Part-attack on the commercialisation of heartfelt soul-singing, Dreamgirls for the most part remains a fun, technically accomplished, lavish musical with enough soul to prevent you from getting the blues.