This movie is a mess.

Rating: 3/10 (1 January 2007)

Well, let's start with what's good -- the film is well photographed and the era is skillfully recreated.
Beyond that, "Dreamgirls" is a mess and a bore.
The writers foist upon us one puzzling dramatic scene after another. The "characters" are poorly motivated, under-developed cardboard cut-outs. The characterizations are inconsistent and have no souls; they serve merely as coat racks upon which the show hangs it songs. The motivations are so ineptly fleshed out that we the audience have nobody to honestly root for. Perhaps in an attempt to provide SOME sort of honest dramatic conflict, the film (poorly) utilizes footage of actual 1960's racial conflicts. These moments succeed only in revealing the artificiality of the plot structure.
This puts a special burden on the music. Unfortunately, with only a couple of exceptions, the songs are duds -- as mediocre as they are forgettable. And without a decent script's proper character motivation, the performers sing the tripe in such an overwrought manner that we the audience must wonder if, rather than singing, they really ought to just seek some counseling.