Saturday afternoon musical spectacular

Rating: 7/10 (9 March 2014)

In many ways I wish more time had been written over the story (it is a bit like a trailing story rolling through the lives of these 3/4 female singers). Also, the way the words of the songs they performed reflected so closely the situation in the film made it a bit cheesy and there was a period in the middle where there were just too many songs sung about what was happening, such that I was about to stop watching. In some ways I wish this had been done with similar songs, but not as a musical.
The singing doesn't really reflect the period (more like beyoncé style ballads) however, this film has a lot of positive aspects..
I absolutely hate Eddy Murphy and actively avoid all films he is in, but on this occasion I felt he was very good and filled the role perfectly. Jennifer Hudson is one of my favourite actresses, and she didn't disappoint, and she sung some stunning songs. Indeed, you really get your money's worth when it comes to the number of songs, and despite not having the most profound lyrics, some are very touching and make up for the weak depth of the story (and this weird superficial reference to the civil rights movement and I think Vietnam, but it never really became part of the film).
It is maybe targeted at 18-25 year old women, especially beyoncé fans, who will love this film. As a 42 year old man, despite being bored in parts, and despite the above criticisms, and despite the fact that I will forget the film by tomorrow, at the end I can say I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and it was a real Saturday afternoon pleasure. You don't have to think, the women are beautiful, some nice songs, and it did make me cry at the end.