Dreamgirls is a splashy film with a great cast, strong performances, terrific music and an engrossing, though...familiar, story.
Dreamgirls (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:198
Fresh:154
Rotten:44
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: Dreamgirls' simple characters and plot hardly detract from the movie’s real feats: the electrifying performances and the dazzling musical numbers.
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
Reviews for Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls has great production values, costumes, sets, makeup and sound. And all this glitz is integral to the appeal of the film.
Una lujosa producción que, a nivel dramático, tiene la misma profundidad que una telenovela. Eso sí: hay (alguna) buena música y una inusual actuación de Eddie Murphy.
Newcomer Jennifer Hudson owns the movie with her magnetic presence and go-tell-it-on-the-mountain voice.* ** ** *
Jennifer Hudson makes her acting debut in Bill Condon's Dreamgirls, and it's safe to say the phrase "star-making turn" was invented for performances like hers.
Os realizadores exibem exatamente o mesmo preconceito que fingem condenar em seu longa, valorizando mais a estética do que o talento. Hipocrisia, Dreamgirls é seu nome.
I could have happily sat through the first half a second time, though I was barely able to sit through the second half once.
...less compelling than the actual history of the Supremes. Similarly, the music felt like faxed-over Motown, a couple of generations less crisp than the original.
A stellar cast, stunning sets and costumes and engaging music make this a modern musical for a new generation.
The opening rump-shaking immediately sets the tone: Dreamgirls pulses with sheer exuberance. When was the last time a musical, much less a huge Hollywood production, felt this alive?
a mildly engrossing lecture on the pitfalls of fame -- drug abuse, failed marriages and egos run rampant -- all set to the melismatic bellowing of semi-catchy show tunes.
Any movie that inspires an audience to clap during and after with such incredible performances is definitely worth your money.
Whatever boldness Condon brings to the project is ultimately sunk by its disappointing lack of human drama in favor of by-the-numbers rise-and-fall theatrics.
A poorly written film with poorly written songs and almost no character development.
[Condon] is one of those rare directors who can make theatricality work on film. Rather than stifling it, he embraces it, and the result is sheer exhilaration.
Aside from Jennifer Hudson's beefy performance, this black r&b musical never conveys much soul.
One can wish for a better, truer, more soulful version of the Motown saga. Or one can grab a seat and be dazzled.
Great performances, great singers, weak music. A mere shadow of Motown's greatest hits.
Despite forgettable songs, I'm much more impressed by Dreamgirls than I am by the darling of the new musicals, Rob Marshall's Chicago.
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