An iconic era in soul music shows us that all that glitters is not gold

Rating: 5/10 (24 February 2007)

Dreamgirls seems like a winner from any angle you look at it from. Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy in a film directed by Oscar winning writer Bill Condon about the rise and demise of splendorous R&B group The Supremes. In fact the film does look quite pretty at times plus plenty of toe-tapping, dreamy musical numbers that electrify your senses. The success of Chicago 5 years ago has revitalised the popularity and appeal of stage to film musicals. Combining so catchy tunes and spectacular glim and glamour, audiences find it hard to resist the genre. Add the overwhelming buzz on it's run to the Oscars and you have a sure fire hit.
The film is a roman à clef about the onset and heyday of Motown and in particular one of the most popular R&B groups, The Supremes. We witness their ascent to fame, the divisions between the manager's wants and public tastes and their struggle to remain in vogue in a changing world of popular music.
Condon helms the film with the all-star cast fully showcasing the razzle-dazzle and enchantment of the songs and glittery costumes and wigs. He brings a confident assurance to the film's success, previously winning an Oscar for his writing and being nominated for the best picture winning Chicago.
However something must have gone wrong in Dreamgirls because it's efforts are incredibly disappointing. His directing fails to light any spark or interest in the characters, and the musical numbers are directed with laziness and indifference. More shocking is his writing, which is mediocre and abysmal. There are so many clichéd moments that made me cringe and cry out in frustration including some very cheesy dialogue and awkward moments in the second half involving the gratuitous worship of Beyonce. The acting (especially from big-name stars Beyonce and Foxx) is for the most part uninspired and forced.
The buzz about Hudson and Murphy is well deserved with Hudson stealing every scene she's in from *all* the other actors. She easily topples all the others when she sings, overpowering them in volume, timbre and tenderness. And is completely natural. You can see that her acting is not as smooth as more experienced actors, but she remains very impressive considering this is her first acting role. Along with Murphy, she is the only one in the film who is truly acting, and not just imitating. Murphy downplays his role as the big musical attraction of the film, breaking away from his comedy star persona. He brings verve and exhilaration in his racier moments to affecting poignancy in his more tender moments. Foxx seems overtly smug and suffers from from bad writing of the "bad-guy" syndrome. While Beyonce is admirable, she's such a dull character not helped by her acting talents.
The songs in the film keep you bopping along throughout but the pace lags especially during the second half and here it descends into shallow melodrama and clichéd soapy writing. As avid lover of musicals, I thought the numbers were a delight but the lyrics lacked the sharpness and wit akin to say Rodgers and Hammerstein, or more relevantly Chicago and The Producers. I will admit that it's not really the fault of the film, but the numbers were actually a bit shallow and trivial to the theme of the film. Now I don't really have a problem with dubbing - and I understand that it helps to refine the sound on the film track - especially if it sounds reasonable and looks realistic, but sometimes it became too conspicuous and I felt discredited some of the film's integrity.
It was actually interesting to notice that as Hudson is the newcomer in the film she is not mentioned on first billing in the credits and publicity. But her role in the film actually becomes the lead as she upstages the other characters and is recognised as the best singer of the Dreams. Plus she eventually becomes central and pivotal to the outcome of the Dreams' career by the film's end. Also interesting was the (coincidental) connection between Beyonce's character and her real life struggles of being an overproduced, over-hyped and marketed mediocre singer. Is it too much of a a stretch to suggest this is how it plays out in real life?
Dreamgirls should have been so much better. Considering the hype leading into it's preliminary screenings and pre-emptive Oscar buzz, its astonishing to see how it has all fallen apart now. The lackluster and uninspired direction, combined with the cheesy and juvenile writing ultimately sink this ship. Even with it's high production values and saving graces from Hudson and Murphy, the film fails to impress. It is hard to resist the comparison with it's contemporary Oscar compatriot Chicago as they both were heavily gunning for Oscar glory and share the same writer. But where Dreamgirls fizzles and Chicago shines is in the slick costumes and art direction, sharp and satirical direction, murderous critique of society and a persuasive and meaty storyline. In Dreamgirls, I was entertained for the most part, but even more, I found myself bored and disappointed by what could have been.