Does what it set out to do, but didn't let us know ahead of time

Rating: 6/10 (26 April 2007)

The latest musical to woo Hollywood came as this soul singing period piece, based off a Broadway production chronicling a decade of conflict revolving around these three "Dreamgirls" and their management. Judged strictly on the strength of this film being classified as a musical, the rambunctiously long parade still gets a passing grade. At times these songs feel unwarranted, excessive, repetitious and showy, but there is still no denying the laborious arrangements behind them to guide this trio along with audience delight. Possibly the true underdogs in this project (all music composed and played by band The Underdogs), these heavily crafted showpieces may reek of excessive production, but are one of the only things that maintain interest the whole way through.
Another credit to the Dreamgirls success story, primarily responsible for crafting this illusion of seeming better then it actually is, belongs to adapter/director Bill Condon, definitely in over his head with pulling off the project with complete respectability, but nevertheless guiding the proceedings with an impressively skilled hand. It is his eye that makes so much of the glitzy treatment present here not seem trashy, his pace that keeps things fun, even when they are not. I applaud artists who like to immerse themselves into completely opposite works (as Condon's progression from Kinsey would indicate) but it is clear that a theater rendition on top of his Hollywood treatment makes for an empty gesture when it comes to the important element of character development here. Focus on so many shiny vocal routines leaves little time to have these figures become realized, leaving viewers with a barrage of sing-along material in place of the actual drama these lyrics are signifying.
Which makes it hard to praise Dreamgirls as the rightly praised, reasonably well made music film it is; simple mis-marketing did not make most people aware that instead of this being a film with music, it is a musical with film. At times it felt the entire project was confused about this identity crises, awkwardly sliding in and out of melodic passages with no real intuition guiding the rhythm... And then there are brave exceptions to that rule, primarily shown in some of Jennifer Hudson's more powerful moments. The former, and bitter, American Idol contestant surprised all by stealing away everyones thunder with her diva-like antics and piercing vocals. There are a few instances in which she is shown literally ripping out her soul via the singing form, which truly does make for the few touching moments that outweigh a lot of hit and miss material, but her Oscar nomination and subsequent win only goes to show how desperate Hollywood is for genuine emotion. Hudson may bring an authenticity and undeniable soulfulness to the role, but to grace her with acting accolades sends out the wrong message to all those invested in the craft. Regardless of that irrelative rant, all those in favor of the next power-pumped shot of hummable celluloid say I to Dreamgirls, but if you are expecting this music to be a framing around which the story is told, you got it backwards.