Almost Perfect...

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2007)

Dreamgirls certainly is an outstanding movie!! Lots of quality here! But it could have been so much better... I gave it a 9/10 because I really enjoyed it a lot, but it wasn't as good as Chicago (which I gave a 10/10 to)
On the technical side, there's absolutely no problem: great sound design, wonderful flashy costumes, lovely sets, thrilling editing, and gorgeous cinematography! In general, Dreamgirls is a lot of fun, because it's fast-paced and keeps the rhythm to the end. The direction by Bill Condon is really top notch.
Now, my favorite part of the review: the acting. Here's where the film could have been so much better...
First, Jamie Foxx. I must say his work as Curtis Taylor Jr. here seems a little uninspired... I know his character is supposed to be shallow, but the performance shouldn't! He's definitely done much better work... obviously in Ray and Collateral (even though I wouldn't have given him the Oscar in 2005... that would have been for Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda...)
I don't know what to think of Beyoncé Knowles as DeenaJones. An uneven performance... Sometimes acceptable, sometimes awful, but sometimes quite good, even really good. Weird... Fortunately, most of her character's purpose in the movie is to look beautiful, smile and sing. Miss Knowles' beauty is quite obvious and she's certainly no slouch at singing! So, that does it for me in the end. And kudos for "Listen". Not only was the performance of that song outstanding, but I understood she co-wrote the lyrics too. Well done.
But we all know that, from the very beginning, all eyes would be on Jennifer Hudson as Effie White. She's the current front-runner for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. And while I can see why she's receiving so much praise, I don't quite agree with it. Don't get me wrong... it's a good performance. Her singing is absolutely marvelous!! Like so many people, tears came to my eyes during "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" (and that's a miracle for me as I never show any external emotion while watching a movie... not that I don't want to, but I just can't cry normally... It's all inside...) but her non-singing part wasn't as convincing as I would have hoped... She's not undeserving, but I'm still a little disappointed...
And now, Eddie Murphy!! Oh boy, am I glad to see him like this!! What a pleasure!! Aside from Donkey in the Shrek series, Eddie's done almost nothing good in the last 15 years... and now, here's something he'll be remembered by! That's easily his best performance ever! And I never knew he could sing so well!! The dancing isn't bad either! Watch out for "Jimmy's Rap"!! That scene is to die for!! He's got soul, that's for sure!! And of course, he remains a great comedian and you can see he really loves what he's doing and wants to share his love, unlike Jamie Foxx. Mr Murphy, thank you!!
So, in a nutshell, Dreamgirls definitely is a great movie with its flaws but all in all, you have a lot of fun!! Long live Eddie Murphy and please give him the Oscar!