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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Murphy delivers both musically and dramatically and I will be shocked if both he and Hudson aren't nominated for Academy Awards.

Full Review Source: Nolan's Pop Culture Review | comment Comment
01/01/07
Michael A. Smith
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review

...while it may not hit the heights like "Chicago," it's the first musical since then with a shot at scoring with audiences.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
12/31/06
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Watching Dreamgirls is like being on cloud nine.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
12/30/06
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

I must toss a bouquet to the amazing American Idol reject Hudson, who sells a song like Garland, only louder, and to Murphy for his terrific interpretation of Early.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
12/30/06
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/30/06
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

It's a product that promises magic, and yet gives us nothing to live on.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
12/30/06
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

When Dreamgirls is behind the mic, it's Oscar golden. But when it's powered by anything other than its pipes, say story-telling, it falls flat and hard.

Full Review Source: Richmond.com | comment Comment
12/29/06
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
Richmond.com

...An uneven success.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/29/06
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

With a star turn like [Jennifer Hudson's] at its center, a movie doesn't need too much more, but Dreamgirls has plenty to go around.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
12/29/06
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
Village Voice

...The result is a tentativeness that keeps Dreamgirls from becoming the great movie it almost is.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
12/29/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Dreamgirls wraps you up in its music, like a velvet coat of sound, and when it's over you feel warmed, happy and thoroughly entertained.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
12/29/06
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

...A Christmas Day present to the rest of us.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
12/29/06
Lee Grant
Lee Grant
San Diego Union-Tribune

Sometimes a splashy movie musical can be just the thing.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
12/29/06
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

All in all, Dreamgirls is a dream of a movie, the most we could have wanted after a 25-year wait.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
12/29/06
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

The stuff that works in Dreamgirls works so beautifully that any qualms are swept off the table by moments that can't be denied.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
12/29/06
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

Flaws and all, Dreamgirls is certainly a lot more watchable than other recent adaptations of Broadway musicals like Rent, The Producers and The Phantom of the Opera.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/29/06
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

This glitzy, infectious and unusually heartfelt musical doesn't always hang together as a satisfying narrative -- too many characters compete for too little screen time -- but its pleasures are numerous enough to override its flaws.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
12/29/06
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

Any way you look at it, Dreamgirls works.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
12/29/06
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Joy is defined as Dreamgirls, an ecstatic dose of pure top-down Motown tight-harmony effervescence that takes a hit Broadway musical about a Chicago girl group and turns it, miraculously, into a Hollywood delight.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/29/06
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

The real star here is former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson, who manages to steal the movie out from under Murphy, as well as some other big-star performers.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
12/29/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
all

Latest News for Dreamgirls

February 07, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Fool's Gold Hopes to Shine in Battle of New Comedies
Hollywood plays the race card this weekend opening a pair of star-driven comedies, one for white moviegoers and the other for black audiences. Matthew McConaughey and Kate... More...

January 10, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Captain Jack and Captain Morgan Set Sail
For the first time in three weeks, studios will pack a Friday with plenty of new releases as four films open or expand nationwide giving the box office chart a major shakeup.... More...

July 19, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Can Chuck and Larry Beat Up Harry?
Two new star-driven Hollywood comedies face off at the box office this weekend in an attempt to unseat Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix from the top spot. Adam Sandler... More...

July 09, 2007: Will Beyonce Star in Disney's "Aida"?
Here's some good news if you love Elton John's "Aida" musical -- as well as Beyonce Knowles... More...

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