The best movie of 2006!

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2007)

The plot of Dreamgirls, Bill Condon's new musical has been crowned "The best movie of the year" by many critics. The hype started early in 2006. But the plot had that "been there, done that" feel to it. The plot isn't what makes Dreamgirls, it's the aesthetics.
Months ago, in talks about the movie, people said things that are probably true ("Beyonce can't act!") and things that we would have to see to believe ("Jennifer Hudson CAN act!")
And after seeing this terrific film, I can say that both of these things are true.
Dreamgirls provides everything that you could want from a musical - danceable musical numbers, thick and layered characters, beautiful costumes, sumptuous set design, but with all of this razzle-dazzle, you cannot help but focus on the movie's shortcomings. But I had a very hard time finding problems with this movie. I thought that the ending was a little bit weak. However, Condon stuffs a lot into the last 20 minutes or so of the movie. The plot has been done before, but never to this extent. Condon wrote "Chicago", but this is his turn to write and direct a musical of his own, and possibly get his own Best Director Oscar. But the best thing about the movie is American Idol's reject Jennifer Hudson. The girl has it all. She sings her ass off, and she also gets the chance to flex her acting muscle, and she performs the role of sassy, under-appreciated diva Effie to a T. I think that she couldn't have been any better. In my theatre, people went wild after the legendary "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" number. And during the Curtain Call, when her name was shown, my audience went wild. This is the birth of a very big star. I wish only the best for her. And there is simply no justice in the world if she doesn't win that Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
And, people keep whining about Beyonce being ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE in this movie, however, I thought she did well, but the character she plays, Deena Jones is a little bit unlikable, but Beyonce can't quite keep up with Hudson. She isn't terrific, but she's not a failure either. And, the 'Dreamgirl' that you hear nobody talking about is Anika Noni Rose, who plays Lorelle. She is very funny, and even though she even has one solo song in the movie, she does that perfectly. There's not enough of her in this movie.
So in conclusion, you need to see Dreamgirls. It is best experienced with a large audience, because in the showings that I saw it in, the audience went crazy with applause after almost every production number. So, even if it's going out of your way, go see it. You won't be disappointed, trust me.