Superficial, but entertaining

Rating: 6/10 (6 February 2008)

Possibly the most anticipated (or at least the most hyped) film of 2006, DREAMGIRLS is a fictional account of the rise and fall of a Supremes-like singing group. The original play, as staged by Michael Bennett, opened on Broadway in 1981 and was an immediate success. Not only did the play run for many performances, but it won six Tony awards and a Grammy, and also made actress/singer Jennifer Holiday a star. Plans for a film adaptation languished in development hell for 25 years until respected director/screenwriter Bill Condon pushed the long-awaited film into production.
As with any film that is so eager anticipated, expectations were very high for DREAMGIRLS, which ended up receiving relatively strong reviews and won nearly every conceivable "supporting actress" award for Jennifer Hudson. I personally found the film to be enjoyable, but not the great masterpiece that Paramount seemed to believe it is. Basically, the film is slick and extremely well-made on the surface, but offers no real insight or uniqueness to its routine plot line. The film relies far too often on the mechanisms of the predictable plot rather than allowing us to experience the joy and pain of its characters, which would have led to a truly rewarding experience.
That's not to say that the film isn't entertaining while it's playing, because it certainly is. As paint-by-the-numbers as the film may be, it makes up for what it lacks in character and genuineness with style and flare. The film is a splashy musical of the type that is rarely seen, and it zips along at a breakneck speed that equates to a surprisingly brisk pace for a movie that runs 131 minutes long. The audience is always two steps ahead of the picture, but it is so buoyant with energy that no one will mind.
The performers all do a capable job with the familiar material. I thought that Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles were good in their respective roles  even though I found their characters unconvincing in the end (Foxx's Berry Gordy-like mogul becomes a one-dimensional villain in the film's final third, while Beyonce's Deena never once displays any Diana Ross-like arrogance and is unconvincingly portrayed as a virtual saint). The film really draws its strength from terrific supporting performances from Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose, Danny Glover, Keith Robinson, and especially the stunning Jennifer Hudson. Miracle of miracles, newcomer Hudson is every bit as sensational as the buzz indicated, and she truly is a knockout!
I never saw the play in any of its incarnations, so this film was my first true exposure to material. Overall, I found the much-praised songs by Henry Krieger and the late Tom Eyen to be only average (there are also four newly-written songs by Krieger and various other writers). I enjoyed the several Motown sound-a-likes (especially "Move" and the instantly memorable title song), but I found many of the more dramatic pieces to be fairly tuneless and rambling. The highpoints are easily Hudson two big solos ("And I'm Telling You I am not Going," and "I am Changing"), both of which are sold by the conviction and intensity of Hudson's performance.
In summary, I found DREAMGIRLS to be appealing and entertaining, yet I could help but wish that director Condone had infused the film with just a fraction of the depth he gave his own 1998 James Whale biopic GODS AND MONSTERS. With just a little more insight or more detailed characterizations, the film could have been a truly great picture. As is, the film solidly enjoyable, and certainly as well produced as any film recent memory. DREAMGIRLS may ultimately be empty inside, but it sure is a pretty package!