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Dreamgirls

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Dreamgirls (2006)

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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.

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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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ambition, power, passion - plus Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and the extraordinary, Jennifer Hudson, who can belt out a song with so much soul, that it is likely to pierce your heart...

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/11/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

DREAMGIRLS has its flaws and weaknesses, but it still is a worthy translation of the stage show to the big screen anddefinitely worth a look.

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/10/07
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

while the soul, rhythm and blues is belted out to perfection by Beyonce and scene stealer Jennifer Hudson, many of the singing scenes tragically feel more like improvised song-speak than choreographed numbers

Full Review Source: Peterborough This Week | comment Comment
01/09/07
Mike Sage
Mike Sage
Peterborough This Week

Given the groundswell of hype surrounding the new Bill Condon musical "Dreamgirls," there's every reason to expect it to be on par with "Chicago," which was based on Condon's script. The reality, though, is somewhat different.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
01/08/07
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Conclusive evidence that the Broadway musical is back as a force on the big screen.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
01/06/07
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Although every review seems contractually obligated to mention Hudson's big number, to me Beyoncé’s “Listen” is a stronger and more affecting summation of character.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
01/05/07
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
FilmStew.com

Dreamgirls has the clout to make a Chicago-like run on Oscar night.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
01/05/07
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

...the picture belongs lock-stock-and-barrel to newcomer Jennifer Hudson...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
01/04/07
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Show Jimmy some love, Oscar!

Full Review Source: Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) | comment Comment
01/04/07
Gina Carbone
Gina Carbone
Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine)

Dreamgirls belongs to Hudson. When she sings, the movie transcends its celluloid confines, becoming an experience that is spiritual, impassioned, profound.

Full Review Source: Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) | comment Comment
01/04/07
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

Watching Dreamgirls on the big screen feels like an event somehow. Maybe it's the conviction and passion that the actors bring to their roles.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
01/03/07
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Elegiac, filthy-minded, unsparing, and as deeply moving as you’d expect from any de facto story of Peter O’Toole’s life.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/03/07
Albert Williams
Albert Williams
Chicago Reader

It looks and plays like every other glitzy star-bio of the past decade. It has no perspective on anything. Most detrimentally, Dreamgirls' music has no soul.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
01/03/07
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

An entertaining movie made an event by Murphy -- an actor some have deemed a has-been -- and Hudson -- a newcomer many in the industry misjudged as a never-will.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
01/03/07
Steven Snyder
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

Unfortunately, nothing else in the film is even in the same galaxy as Hudson's song ['And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going'].

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
01/02/07
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Hudson goes over-the-top, then tops her over-the-topness, and it is entirely possible the Academy will reward her for her intensity -- but still, is this really acting?

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment 4 Comments
01/02/07
Peter T. Chattaway
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today

Dreamgirls” is a better musical than Chicago or Rent, but then, that isn’t really saying much.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment 1 Comment
01/02/07
Pete Vonder Haar
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat

A terrifically entertaining, ovation-worthy spectacle that results from the assembled efforts of a gifted, impassioned, invigorated creative crew.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/01/07
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

[The director] combines solid storytelling, top-notch production design, and stylish camera/editing techniques to make you think of Dreamgirls as less a movie and more a performance.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
01/01/07
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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