Dazzling Broadway Hit Becomes Top-Notch Cinematic Entertainment with a Superb Cast

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2006)

Like many others, I vividly recall how Jennifer Holliday sent shivers down my neck when she ripped through her defiant anthem, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going", in the original Broadway production nearly a quarter century ago. It is the kind of transcendent moment in the theater that had exponentially raised my anticipation of the much-delayed 2006 screen adaptation. The great news is that director/screenwriter Bill Condon has pulled together a top-notch entertainment piece full of ceaseless energy and eye-filling dazzle. Even if the narrative deficiencies of Tom Eyen's original musical have not been resolved here, Condon compensates by bringing more historical context to the story and making even more pointed references to the characters' real-life counterparts. More importantly, he recognizes that the episodic human drama really takes a back seat to the early Motown-to-disco musical pastiche brought forth by Henry Krieger's sturdy, crescendo-heavy score and Eyen's constantly engaging lyrics.
The time-spanning plot focuses on a girl group in Detroit, three childhood friends - vocal powerhouse Effie backed up by good-girl Deena and chatty Lorrell  who are together known as the Dreamettes. Showing promise but failing to win a local amateur contest, they are corralled by smooth-talking Cadillac huckster Curtis Taylor to sing back-up for local R&B star James Thunder Early. They become a hit on the chitlin' circuit, but Taylor wants broader fame. Along with Effie's ambitious, soft-spoken songwriting brother C.C., Taylor launches a new label, Rainbow Records, right out of his car dealership. They record a song that starts to move on the charts but not before it is lifted by a white group in an antiseptic cover version. Taylor turns to payola to ensure Early and the Dreamettes achieve pop success on their own. He also tries to tone down Early for white audiences and makeover the girls into the Dreams. The latter strategy means pushing Effie into the background and Deena upfront, a move that causes friction and resentment in spite of the group's burgeoning success. Eventually, Effie's diva behavior gets her kicked out of the Dreams, and Early's star fades into addiction and irrelevance. Meanwhile, Taylor has built a media empire with plans to make Deena a movie star. His Svengali-level of control reaches a breaking point when he takes back a song C.C. wrote for Effie's resuscitating solo career in order to make it a disco hit for the Dreams.
It's most fortunate that casting is exemplary here because that could have easily been the film's downfall. Even though it is an ensemble piece, the lion's share of the press has been going to Jennifer Hudson's blazing debut performance as Effie. Standing in the shadow of the startlingly overwhelming Jennifer Holliday is no picnic, but with her zaftig figure and huge voice, Hudson effortlessly captures the character's sassy self-confidence and eventual emotional deconstruction. Musically, she clearly has the vocal chops and technique to nail all of Effie's numbers, especially "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going", the film's crowning moment. As Early, Eddie Murphy finally has a role that takes advantage of his gift for mimicry (this time an amalgam of Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson and James Brown  who sadly just died this morning), adds darker colors and textures to his established screen persona and dares him to try singing again. The result is nothing short of a revelation.
As Deena, the obvious Diana Ross doppelganger, Beyoncé Knowles manages to hold her own, even though her character has not been sharpened into a stronger personality. A stunning woman by anyone's measure, she manages to capture her progenitor's breathy, slinky singing style, while lending a naturalistic quality to her portrayal. She has one shining musical moment, a new song called "Listen", though ironically, her powerful vocal delivery seems at odds with Deena's supposedly limited talents. With the unenviable task of playing Curtis, the Berry Gordy-like figure of Machiavellian villainy, Jaime Foxx begins solid even as the character becomes more cardboard as the story progresses. With a beautifully soulful voice of her own, Anika Noni Rose shines as Lorrell moving fluidly from ditzy back-up singer to resigned mistress. Keith Robinson also displays a fine voice and brings gravitas to his subtle performance as C.C, while Danny Glover provides his welcome seasoned presence as Early's manager, Marty.
There are several moments that are plain wonderful. One in particular is when Early starts to rehearse the Dreamettes on "Fake Your Way to the Top", and as he gyrates, it turns into the actual stage show. Another is the near-operatic histrionics on "It's All Over" when most of the principals take flashy, fiery turns to illuminate the story's turning point. I like some of the movie's more overt send-ups like Early wearing Marvin Gaye's knit cap as he sings his civil rights-themed ballad, "Patience", or when Deena comes floating down the theater aisles blowing air kisses just like Diana Ross at the Motown reunion concert. All the production values are first-class from Tobias A. Schliessler's dazzling, color-saturated cinematography to Sharen Davis' va-va-voom costumes to Virginia Katz's kinetic film editing to John Myhre's evocative production design which includes recreations of the 1967 Detroit riots. Despite a smattering of weakly contrived dramatic moments in the second half, this is knockout entertainment for anyone who enjoys the musical genre.