The first musical I stayed awake in!

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2007)

I saw this last night, a bottle of wine at my side, and enjoyed it immensely. Admittedly, I had expectations of the film being a vehicle for Beyonce, akin to the 'Lady Sings the Blues' biopic for Diana Ross. This would have been a post modern ironic parallel! However I'm glad that the cast had a balanced contribution to make, although Effie is the stand out highlight, her vocal and acting skills exceeding all others.
As a Motown fan, I enjoyed the similarities, and remember hearing about founder Berry Gordy's dissatisfaction with the original stageshow. The tale of power corrupting is a timeless one, and transferred to the setting of classic R&B, it just begs the Diana Ross/Berry Gordy story, which is well documented, and clearly the inspiration for this tale.
I don't like musicals, but I adored this, in no small part to the style of music. It's not classic music - Blues Brothers wins on that count - but it is a well overdue dramatic retelling of the classic period of American music.