Overlong, old-fashioned, boring

Rating: 1/10 (4 March 2007)

Like many others, I was fooled by the rave reviews and claims that this was even better than "Chicago". It was not. Actually, I had no idea that the musical the film is based on has been around for so long. I wonder how it managed, because there is not a single memorable song in the whole show. As somebody else remarked, the movie starts quite well, with some decent R&B songs, but quickly turns into a series of pop songs of very mediocre quality, which sound one very much like the other (i.e. second-rate). A professional movie critic hailed the central song, titled something like "I am not leaving" as a sort of masterpiece, but I was just looking forward for Ms. Hudson to shut her mouth, as she seemed to go on forever screaming at the top of her lungs. Very old-style Broadway showbiz. The sort of singing style I am uncomfortable with.
Besides, if you want to believe the movie actually has a plot, this scene was quite nonsensical, as every other member of the cast had made it clear she had to go, so she sounded a bit dim-witted, insisting about something that was already decided. I also think it makes a big difference to watch this movie outside the States. Americans may be intrigued by the pop and movie stars personalities crowding the movie. I just wanted to enjoy a good musical, without particularly caring about any big name attached to it (also because they are not so big in Europe). I was bored by the songs (too many) and the plot is so simplistic that it turned into one of those "so-bad-it-makes-me-laugh" kind of experiences.
Eddie Murphy was embarrassing, posing as Little Richard or whomever, and any other character so two-dimensional that it was impossible to care about whatever was going on.