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Movies / On DVD / Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls

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Dreamgirls (2006)

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Reviews Counted:11

Fresh:7

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: Dreamgirls' simple characters and plot hardly detract from the movie’s real feats: the electrifying performances and the dazzling musical numbers.

Rated: 12A

Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins 1 sec

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:02-02-2007

Synopsis: In 1960s Detroit, a good night onstage can get you noticed but it won't get your song played on the radio. Here, a new kind of music is on the cusp of being born – a sound with roots buried deep in... In 1960s Detroit, a good night onstage can get you noticed but it won't get your song played on the radio. Here, a new kind of music is on the cusp of being born – a sound with roots buried deep in the soul of Detroit itself, where songs are about more than what's on the surface, and everyone is bound together by a shared dream. Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx) is a car salesman aching to make his mark in the music business – to form his own record label and get its sound heard on mainstream radio at a time when civil rights are still only a whisper in the streets. He just needs the angle, the right talent, the right product to sell. Late for their stint in a local talent show, The Dreamettes – Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles), Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose), and lead singer Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) – show up in their cheap wigs and homemade dresses, rehearsing songs and steps by Effie's brother, C.C. (Keith Robinson), with hopes that talent and sheer desire will break them out of the only life that seems available to them. They're young. They're beautiful. They're just what Curtis is looking for. All they have to do is trust him. James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy) is a pioneer of the new Detroit sound, spellbinding audiences all along the "Chitlin' Circuit" with his electrifying blend of soul and rock 'n' roll. Curtis finesses The Dreamettes a gig singing backup for Early, and suddenly, for all of them, the gulf between what they want and what they can have draws closer for the first time. Curtis launches the girls as a solo act, rechristening them The Dreams, knowing in his gut that success lies not with the soulful voice of Effie, but with the demure beauty and malleable style of Deena – despite their history…and Curtis' promises. Deena is ready to step into the spotlight, even as Effie fades away. As a new musical age dawns, Curtis' driving ambition pushes this one-time family to the forefront of an industry in the throes of music revolution. But when the lights come up and the curtains part, they hardly recognize who they've become. Their dreams are finally there for the taking, but at a price that may be too heavy for their hearts to bear. The groundbreaking Tony Award-winning Broadway phenomenon comes to life as an all-new motion picture adaptation written and directed by Academy Award®® winner Bill Condon. A Laurence Mark production presented by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, "Dreamgirls," is a compelling story of love and loyalty, fame and betrayal that tracks the struggle, sacrifices and triumphs of a group of outsiders carrying their landmark sound into mainstream America in the 1960s and '70s. --© DreamWorks [More]

Starring: Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson

Starring: Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Keith Robinson, Hinton Battle, Anika Noni Rose, John Lithgow, Sharon Leal, Tom Voth, Robert Cicchini

Director: Bill Condon

Director: Bill Condon
Screenwriter: Bill Condon
Producer: Laurence Mark
Composer: Henry Krieger, Stephen Trask
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

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Reviews for Dreamgirls

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1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Few pictures can match the glamorous pull of Dreamgirls. Bill Condon's first big musical since Chicago is a glossy, gleaming Cadillac of a film with a vintage rhythm and blues engine tuned to perfection. The cast is dressed to kill.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
02/05/07
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
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There is no single person or story to centre the drama around, and Murphy's performance, though widely liked and indeed now Oscar-nominated, is for my money flatly written with very little of the high comedy octane of which we know he is capable.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/03/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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The songs themselves aren't memorable so it helps greatly that they're delivered with gusto. Condon tries to pack too much in, however, and energy flags slightly towards the end. Ultimately it's Hudson's passion that keeps the dream alive.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/30/07
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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Ardent, accomplished, overwhelmingly emotional, with something to say and a dream cast saying it in song. Bravo.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/29/07
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
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It reserves singing and dancing for the stage until Jamie Foxx just randomly bursts into verse while strolling down the street. Dreamgirls wants to be Effie but ends up as Deena: thin, smooth, unburdened by a personality.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/25/07
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Time Out
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Dreamgirls is the entire musical package, a triumph of old school on-screen glamour, and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/03/07
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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As much as I appreciated the performances from the terrifically talented cast -- as much as I liked Dreamgirls -- I didn't love it. Maybe it was just a little too slick and over the top for its own good.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/22/06
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Chicago Sun-Times
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Audiences who go to Dreamgirls will have a good time, but theyll be going for old times sake rather than to encounter anything vital or new.

comment Comment
12/14/06
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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It's great to see a movie musical with a smart sense of the genre.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
12/11/06
TIME Magazine
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A musical with energy and talent to burn but missing its heart.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment 8 Comments
12/01/06
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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Stays true to the source material while standing on its own as a fully reimagined movie.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/01/06
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety
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1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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