Variety's "Dreamgirls" Review

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 7:25pm

"Finally. After "The Phantom of the Opera," "Rent" and "The Producers" botched the transfer from stage to screen, "Dreamgirls" gets it right. Bill Condon's adaptation of the 1981 show about a Motown trio's climb to crossover stardom pulls off the fundamental double-act those three musical pics all missed: It stays true to the source material while standing on its own as a fully reimagined movie. Driven by tremendously exciting musical performances, the Par/DreamWorks release should sing loud and strong through awards season and beyond."
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"An "American Idol" finalist without prior screen experience, Hudson comes fully-formed to film. It's the kind of galvanizing perf that calls to mind debuts like Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl" or Bette Midler in "The Rose," with a voice like the young Aretha. More fully developed here than onstage, Effie is the fierce, wounded, pulsating heart of the movie. Her big song and second explosive number "I Am Changing" both elicit audience cheers and applause."

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"It was a brilliant stroke to have Broadway vets Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer light the performance scenes, the dazzling execution enhanced by Tobias A. Schliessler's swooping, circling camera. In the title number in particular, in which the trio members emerge as restyled stars, the widescreen camerawork is luscious, picking up an elbow-length glove, a fishtail skirt, an elegant choreographic move. And the trend toward machine-gun editing is refreshingly resisted by Virginia Katz, who creates a rhythm both kinetic and graceful.

The film drips glamour and vibrant color thanks to Sharen Davis' glitzy costumes and John Myhre's detailed production design. Matching Condon's achievement in marrying naturalistic showbiz drama with old-fashioned musical, the retro stylings of both sets and costumes expertly brush period-specific reality with subtle touches of fantasy."

http://www.variety.com/VE1117932225.html

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 7:27pm

Just beat you to it. Check out the other thread.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/30/06 at 7:31pm

I noticed just after i posted this, so let this die the death it needs..