A fabulous look-back at the Boomer's engine room.

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2007)

Diane and I saw this brilliant movie this afternoon and I am in awe of the magnificent performances that graced the screen. I had to take away one star because of my disdain for musicals in general but thankfully the musical numbers were short and the vocals were excellent. New York musicals do not fit with Motown and I did not realize that form played such a role in a story whose roots were in Detroit. I was also sorry that the singing was modern meaning that the musical numbers were not the originals as I had expected and therefore the magic of Holland-Dozier-Holland was missing; however, these are probably minor points for the great mass of the viewing public.
Yes, Murphy probably did play his greatest role to date. And yes, if Jennifer Hudson was only voted into sixth on American Idol then the voting public for that show needs their heads thoroughly examined. If anybody ever makes a film biography of the great Aretha, then Hudson should be a shoe-in for the role.
I thought the way in which the movie wove the stories of the different characters together was wonderful storytelling. The chronological changes seen in the costumes and props as the movie progressed was a credit to the production crew.
Any Boomer reading this should absolutely see this film, even if you don't like, even a little, musicals.