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Movies / On DVD / Dreamgirls
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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1 - 4 of 7

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Reviews for Dreamgirls

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161 - 180 (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
 
 

This lackluster neo-musical only partially succeeds.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 4 Comments
12/14/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Though it beeps and flashes in lots of different colors, it's not actually that good, or thought through, or well-executed.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
12/14/06
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Invigorating, emotional, and visually spectacular, Dreamgirls is one of the finest motion pictures of the year.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
12/14/06
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

The energetic songs come fast and quick, Condon and his brilliant cast snapping them out like there's no shortage.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
12/14/06
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

It's all about the razzle-dazzle, baby, and this slick flick sizzles, thanks to glossy production values, spectacularly staged musical numbers and Bill Condon's energetic direction.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/14/06
Matt Stevens
Matt Stevens
E! Online

Jennifer Hudson is the heart and soul of Dreamgirls. When she's on the screen, the movie shines. When she's not, the whole endeavor suffers.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
12/14/06
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

When Jennifer Hudson sings, all's right with the world.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
12/14/06
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal

Lively songs, flabby story.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
12/14/06
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Lacks the one quality that Marshall's sub-par Best Picture winner Chicago had going for it - an invigorating, irresistible, knockout score.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
12/14/06
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

A triumph of old school on-screen glamour.

Full Review Source: NPR's Morning Edition | comment Comment
12/14/06
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
NPR's Morning Edition
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's loud, with lots of pretty colors, but there's nothing holding back the melodrama or making it emotionally relevant.

Full Review Source: Mark Reviews Movies | comment Comment
12/14/06
Mark Dujsik
Mark Dujsik
Mark Reviews Movies

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Dreamgirls proves] again that transforming a hit Broadway musical into an equally spectacular movie is one of the most confounding tricks in show business.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
12/14/06
Bruce Newman
Bruce Newman
San Jose Mercury News

Dazzling - one of the Best Pictures of 2006. It could rival "Chicago" in the upcoming Oscar race. It's that good!

Full Review Source: www.susangranger.com | comment Comment
12/14/06
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

The corn may be as high as Beyoncé Knowles' gravity-defying wigs, but you'll be so carried away by the penny-arcade clamor of light, rhythm and song, you really won't care.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
12/14/06
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday

With a star turn like that at its center, a movie doesn’t need too much more, but Dreamgirls has plenty to go around. Its sense of showmanship is overflowing.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
12/14/06
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

Blandoncé Knowles.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
12/14/06
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

[Hudson] is ferocious in a role that requires nothing less, reconciling the bombast and the vulnerability . . .and making them two sides of the same coin

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/14/06
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

Dreamgirls is the rare movie musical with real rapture in it.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
12/13/06
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

I have to admit that the film’s spectacular performances and production values will blow you away much of the time -- and for that, Mr. Condon and his many colleagues deserve to be commended.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
12/13/06
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
 
 
161 - 180 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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