Hudson is magnificent, but the film is too uneven

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2007)

For anyone who follows movies and the awards season, Dreamgirls was one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. It was the frontrunner for Best Picture from the start, and only continued to pull in steam as Oscar season came closer. While some of that steam has worn off a bit, the film is still one of the frontrunners, and is still pulling in lots of buzz. After an overextended limited theatrical release, the film has finally gone wide, and thus, gave me the opportunity to see it.
I was skeptical about the film, not being a huge fan of musicals and all. But surprisingly, it was better than I thought it would be. But even with that statement, I am still a little conflicted about the film as a whole.
For the uneducated, the film is based on a popular award-winning musical from 1981. It is fictional, but is based in fact. After narrowly losing a talent contest, the three members of the Dreamettes, Deena (BeyoncÃ© Knowles), Lorell (Anika Noni Rose) and lead singer Effie (Jennifer Hudson), are signed to a contract by Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx). Despite Effie's complaints, they become back-up singers to popular singer Jimmy 'Thunder' Early (Eddie Murphy), and soon after, become their own group. But as the group becomes more famous, relationships begin to dissolve and betrayal and heartbreak begin to become more predominant.
The most noteworthy thing about the film is exactly what all the critics have been saying: Hudson's earth-shattering performance as Effie White. Watching her perform made me think the title of the film really should have been A Star is Born, her performance really is that great. Her angry diva-licious role is done with such a high-degree of perfection that it really is hard to believe that all she has done other than this film is American Idol. Her acting chops are well refined, and easily make her the best member of the cast. She brings soul and genuine emotion to her character, and makes the role absolutely unforgettable. Her singing voice is even better, and even stronger than the excellent acting. When she belts out "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" halfway through the film, everything and everyone bows down to her.
But this is a large problem for the rest of the film.
The first half before the song comes is fast-paced, and practically flies by. Bill Condon and company really immerse you in the action and drama of what is going on, and really churn out an excellent movie. Songs besides Hudson's big number are all catchy and well converted to the screen. The costumes, set designs and choreography are above excellent, and the editing is absolutely wonderful. But after the song, the film just loses any sense of speed it had, and instead, just drags along quite painfully at times. It feels like it just stopped knowing where to focus everything, and just decided to try and concentrate on anything it possibly could. And even then, they miss key plot elements and characters in favour of others that are not so key to the rest of the film. It feels awkward, and having not seen the musical on Broadway, I am unsure if I should blame the source material, or blame Condon's script. Thankfully none of the artistic elements fail (save for the really inane fade outs), but the loss of focus really hurts the movie.
Another issue are the leads in the film.
Hudson can only do so much, and even with stealing scenes left, right and centre, she cannot hold the weight up of everyone else. Knowles and Foxx, despite being the lead actors, are completely overshadowed by everyone. Their singing is not up to par, their acting (although better than expected) is not up to par, and their hearts just do not seem to be in the film as much as everyone else's. They look like they could have easily been replaced by lesser known stars, and had their roles actually mean something to the film. As it stands, they just look like background characters that are integral to the story, but just do not have the importance that they should.
Murphy is disappointing as Early, because despite the critical praise, he is basically playing himself. Early thinks is stubborn, egotistical, and washed up. That is basically the picture the media paints of Murphy, so would you not think he would do well for himself playing a role that is so close to his actual self? Truth be told, he really is not in the movie a whole lengthy amount of time, and does nothing all too fascinating when he is.
I actually was a lot more impressed by the underrated Rose and television regular Keith Robinson as lyricist C.C. Robinson. Both are supporting characters, but they command the screen when they are front and centre. Their acting is great, and they really help make their characters stick out. They are nowhere near as strong as Hudson, but their acting helps complement her amazing performance. In a way, they make up for the fumble of the main three, but on the other hand, prove that having a lesser known cast probably could have helped the film be much more powerful. Small roles from Danny Glover and Hinton Battle are also well done (as is an amusing cameo by Jaleel White).
When I said I was conflicted, I was not kidding. On one hand, we have a film that has amazing technical feats, a memorable supporting cast and a star-making turn from Hudson. But on the other, the main cast really is subpar, and the film becomes tedious and boring in the second half. If it had stayed consistent, I think I could have justifiably given this film the blessing to win Best Picture. But as it stands, it just does not feel like a worthy winner.
7/10.