DREAMGIRLS Overhype...

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:35pm

I really don't want to see, hear or know anything else about this movie till my butt is in the seat and the lights are going down. Anyone else feel it will be ruined for them or their expectations will be so high they will never be met?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:40pm

Awww! Don't be such a party pooper. A movie like this does not come along everyday. We've been waiting YEARS!

[mateo]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:43pm

we get like 1 movie musical a year.. let people talk.

[bare_nakedlady]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:49pm

I think SueleenGay actually makes a good point. Every time I hear mention of this movie I get EXCITED. And I did the same with 'The Producers' and 'Rent'. Well, we know how they turned out. I know people have gone to see shows when they were 'overhyped' and felt let down. I also know that each one of us has gone to a show that had been dogged and ended up having a good time. So I think the worry here is that the more your hear the more excited you get. Can the movie meet those expectations??? Only time will tell. Until then, I'll still get excited.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:49pm

Sueleen, I understand your point completely, but the kids need their fun and want to talk and dish about Dreamgirls. I say just ignore the posts and don't read them. That's what I am doing with ACL. That way everyone is happy. People can talk and you can maintain your blank slate for when you view the film. :)

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:54pm

I see Sueleen's point, too. As a result of the hype with Rent and The Producers, and the eventual let down, I have yet to see either of those films. I'm tending to block out the Dreamgirls threads, as I really want to see and enjoy this film without any expectations.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:55pm

Oh, believe me I will avoid those threads. I don't begrudge people getting excited, but do we need to know every little thing that went through Jennifer Hudson's mind? Do we have to see every clip or hear each new remix of One Night Only? I want to be surprised and delighted by the costumes and music, not go in already knowing what every song sounds like and what each costume looks like. So I will avoid them. I just hope you all can still enjoy the film when you finally get to see the whole thing.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:55pm

Sueleen...you're such a crabapple!

but a crabapple with a point :)

[Kringas]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 2:56pm

The failure of Rent had nothing to do with it being overhyped. It failed because it was a crappy movie.

I do understand what Sueleen is saying. I haven't put myself on a Dreamgirls moritorium, but I'm planning to avoid most of the coverage once we get closer to the film's release. Again, though, it's not my expectations that could ruin the movie for me; bad execution will ruin it for me (a la Rent). Hell, I knew many of the changes going into Rent (I had read the shooting script that was pretty much identitcal to what wound up on screen), so I was prepared for a lot of the changes. I still thought it was crap.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:11pm

So true, Kringas. I had zero expectations for Rent that were pretty much met. Yuck.
However, I DO have high hopes for Dreamgirls. I remember going to see Chicago on opening day, really not knowing what to expect. I was so surprised and delighted that they got it so right.

[ozone20]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:17pm

Exactly.. RENT was just a piece of crap and thats why people felt let down. Heres the fact of the matter: YOUR expectations are YOUR OWN responsibility. I mean its not the like current DREAMGIRLS publicity wheel is un-avoidable.. it TOTALLY is. stop readin the posts and stop readin the articles(sure you may see a TV spot here and there) but whatever expectations you take away from that are your own doing. ur clean slate can be preserved if YOU want it be.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:25pm

I agree with you up to a point. However I have been handed Dreamgirls Fans and stickers on the street. I also think that with any over-hyped event it runs the risk of backlash. (That cowboy movie comes to mind.)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:29pm

I guess I resigned myself YEARS ago -- long before Condon ever was mentioned -- that no film could ever begin to match my experience(s) of seeing the original show at the Imperial back in the early 80s. No film could recreate the electricity of the Bennett staging and those amazing performances and extraordinary designs -- especially now that Bennett himself isn't around to guide the filmmakers. The film is going to be a completely different animal and necessarily all manner of changes from the stage show have to be made. I'm sure I'll like a lot of what the movie has to offer -- perhaps I'll even love it on its own terms. But, comparisons to the stage version are completely immaterial to me. I hope they do a great job and it's successful, both for the good of the material itself and for the future of the movie musical as a genre, but whatever ends up on screen will never replace one of the the great theatregoing experiences of of my lifetime.

So HYPE AWAY! It'll have no effect on me one way or another.

Updated On: 8/16/06 at 03:29 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:33pm

Margo, that is how I felt about Chicago. But I feel it was done as well as it could have been on screen. I admire the talent behind Dreamgirls, but it won't be the stage version. It couldn't be, but it can still be a great film.

[mateo]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:35pm

i think it will be a wonderful hit.

I wonder if america appreciates the musical Dramady more than just a Comedy?

I hope Hairspray's bouffant does not fall flat when it makes the transition. - I think the DG and Hairspray people are doing their best to make it a fun, lively and completely new experience so that movie goers respond well, and theatre audiences get something new to respond to.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:44pm

Don't fall for the hype. Don't have expectations. Frankly, I'm all for a movie musical getting tons of buzz and therefore tons of butts in seats and therefore tons of money and therefore more movie musicals greenlit from studios!

[javero]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 3:51pm

This is slightly off-topic but it irks me at times that stage-to-screen transfers of musicals generate so much buzz in comparison to similar transfers of straight plays. I honestly didn’t see the big screen version of David Auburn’s brilliant play ‘Proof’ because I just didn’t think that Gwyneth Paltrow was up to the challenge to play Catherine against Sir Anthony Hopkins as her genius father. Similarly, I had reservations about Jake Gyllenhaal playing her suitor on screen. Mary-Louise Parker originated the role on stage and her performance was otherworldly. I later saw productions in DC & Chicago which where outstanding as well.

The play was the absolute best thing thrown up by Broadway in recent memory with the possible exception of ‘Doubt’. However, the hype-meisters did not shill the screen transfer to death like the PR juggernaut pushing the screen versions of ‘Dreamgirls’ or ‘Chicago’ which is a shame. I think that ‘Dreamgirls—the movie’ will be a huge box office success and Jennifer Hudson the revelation of the year. IMO the stage version of ‘Rent’ was never the best that Broadway has to offer. I’m anxious though to see how ‘Dreamgirls’ fares oversees where Hollywood makes most of its money these days plus video rentals.

Updated On: 8/16/06 at 03:51 PM

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:06pm

Some of us knew Rent was gonna suck.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:08pm

Hook, I hope the film is a major hit, but more than that, I hope it's good.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:09pm

Sueleen - EXACTLY.

[ozone20]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:15pm

I agree with you up to a point. However I have been handed Dreamgirls Fans and stickers on the street. I also think that with any over-hyped event it runs the risk of backlash. (That cowboy movie comes to mind.)


again whatever take away from fans and stickers on the street is on YOU. stop passin the buck.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:29pm

Dreamgirls is overhyped to whom? As musical theater fans, it's natural for us to eat anything that says "Dreamgirls" on it (or any movie musical since so few get made). We hear about any little development that occurs. However, for the general, non-Hollywood or non-Broadway population, the hype for Dreamgirls has not begun yet. The general public doesn't obsess about the commercials shown at the Tony's or the BET awards. I won't be surprised if you asked 10 random people on the street if they even knew what Dreamgirls was, what it's about, or that it's coming out as a movie.

Personally, though I will buy the soundtrack once it is released, I don't intend to listen to it until I have seen the movie. While I think it's fine to listen to the more pop-py tunes like "Dreamgirls", "One Night Only", and "Steppin' to the Bad Side", I want it to be a fresh experience seeing and hearing the more plot-oriented songs. I think it's great that people are discussing the movie. If one wants to avoid spoilers, then avoid topics and discussions about the movie.

Once January and February 2007 rolls along, then we can talk about overhype. Everyone will be talking about this as an Oscar-contender, it would be a shame if it goes the same way that Brokeback Mountain did, not getting the award it was supposedly a shoo-in to win.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:35pm

So is the film actually going into wide release in December or not? I hope there won't be any of that beginning of the year carry-over bullsh*t like with so many other film musicals lately.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:38pm

it would be a shame if it goes the same way that Brokeback Mountain did

Or, God forbid, The Producers and Rent.

Ozone, my point is that it is already getting tiresome and my feeling about that crap is "Christ, what next, Dreamgirls toilet bowl brushes?" And I DON'T take everything that I'm offered, but it's still shoved in my face. I am not "passing the buck" I am just over it and afraid it will ruin the actual film experience for me.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/16/06 at 4:45pm

Well, Rent and The Producers (especially The Producers) did not have the positive buzz Dreamgirls is getting. Ofcourse, I would be disappointed if the movie did not deliver. At this point though, I think it's safe to assume that the movie will be good. Whether it will be excellent is something to be discussed come December.