Tedious Soap Opera Musical! Chicago It Ain't!

Rating: 1/10 (12 February 2007)

Full Disclosure: I forced myself to see this film at my historic, 63-year-old, locally owned theater because they are facing a bank foreclosure in 11 days. (If you ever lived in the City of Baltimore - The Senator, with probably the single largest movie screen in Maryland, is in danger of closing it's doors forever.) However, I did enter the theater with hope, no matter how slight, that I would leave feeling entertained!
Call me old-fashioned, but I like to care about at least one of the characters in a story. Even in a godforsaken, awful movie I will sit through the whole tedious thing, if I can empathize with at least a single character. In Dreamgirls, I literally felt like I was watching an obnoxious soap opera with very shallow two-dimensional characters. Who cares about a bunch of rich & famous show business losers?
For example, after hearing one character say: " I spent half a million dollars (in 1960's dollars) on drinking." I practically groaned and said to myself, "as a young adult, you had nothing better to do with your money during the height of the Vietnam War & the Civil Rights movement then spend it on booze? How inspiring!
Granted the cinematography and costumes are absolutely magnificent ! But that's icing on the cake. After a while it wears thin, and it certainly does not carry a story to its conclusion.
This movie is all flash and no substance. While there is certainly nothing offensive in this overblown production, having a wry sense of humor, like the very clever Chicago, would have done this film wonders. Also having fewer characters, and better editing, would not have hurt either.
I found it quite ironic that one of the songs performed in Dreamgirls was along the lines of "I've got soul," something this shallow film sorely lacked!