my thoughts on the Dreamgirls film- good and bad.

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:02pm

I saw Dreamgirls last night, and to spare everyone a rehashing of what all the others have said, I will just sum up my experience.

THE GOOD:

Amazing cinematography

beautiful costumes and production design

Jennifer Hudson- knock your socks off amazing. great spirit, great performance, angellic voice

Beyonce- a helluva lot better than I expected. I was pleasantly impressed

Eddie Murphy- really, really great. He was an absolute joy to watch as Jimmy, and had the audience in stitches. his dramatic scenes had wonderful sub-text and nuance, I was very impressed.

Jamie Foxx- Wonderfully sleazy and a dynamic performace

Anika- really liked her, had great expressions, obviously a great voice, and she played Lorrel with a great heart, and a fun amount of ditzyness.

The "new" story: *****SPOILER AHEAD FOR THIS SECTION******
I thought the death of Jimmy was very effective, added a grounded feel to the second act, and helped the film to not lag, which I think does in the second act at times. Condon's screenplay really worked for me. obviously he had to take some of the sung dialogue out for reality's sake, but his changes were appropriate, and I think enhanced the characters' feelings and sub-text. Deena's character was much better in it's arc. she was much more fleshed out, and you followed her journey with empathy.

*******END SPOILER********

Keith Robinson: as C.C, he was expertly cast. great job, great voice, great look.


THE NOT SO GOOD, (or what could have been better)

The Choreography- some was good (steppin to the bad side, very electric and impressive) some not so good (Deena's version of one night only) here's the deal. unlike Marshall's very clean and together choreography for Chicago, where not one dancer was out of step, this choreo. seemed sloppy, as if there wasn't enough rehearsal time. IMO, if Condon should have had someone like Marshall on set to oversee and clean up the dances, because film is forever, and I wanted everyone to be in unison, I.E Cell block tango.

one night only- the male dancers were fierce, but the choreo was not set in period. they were pretty much vogueing on the dance floor, and I was annoyed at that, because with everything else in the film that meticulously stayed in period, the choreographer (Fatima Robinson)did not.

Fatima is a hip hop and R&B choreographer (she worked alot with Aliyah) she does great work, but I think they should have brought in a theatre choreographer, or someone from the time period of the sixties and seventies who actually worked with real black girl groups of the time.

the awkward cameos- when I saw Steve Urkell in the beginning, it was very wierd. can't explain it. John Lithgow's character, while wonderfully dirty, was still a shock to most of the audiences and brought a few sn*s from the audiences. so the cameos, while fun, I think took away focus at times from the movie. the audience had to stop and say, "oh, ok. Jaleel White's in this movie. where's he been?"

Jamie Foxx looked a little awkward singing into the camera for me. not enough subtext on the sustained notes.

WHAT I MISSED: some of the sung-to-dialogue changes were appropriate, but I still really just wanted to hear the score, especially the backstage arguments in the "heavy" section, and the backstage part with Lorrell that takes place after "The Rap"
and of course- no vegas number!!!! really wanted to see that on on a huge budget, and felt that if Marshall had a hand in the film, it would have been in, because we know how Marshall feels about big production numbers.


I think for now that is about it. all in all, I came in with very high expectations, and it is a testament to the film that it almost lived up to them. I give it an A-.

Updated On: 12/12/06 at 12:02 PM

[mateo]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:07pm

You may want to include "Spoiler" in the subject title.


I didnt really want to know that Jimmy dies... but its ok.

Gladd you overall enjoyed the film.

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:15pm

sorry about that, I just figured everyone on this site already knew about that because there have been a few threads on it. I will change it.

[mateo]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:34pm

oh, I guess I managed to avoid those threads. :)


no problem. I am not one of those people who get ruined when they hear key plot points. I'll see it plenty of times. :)

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:53pm

Was "Ain't No Party" cut for the film? I was distressed when I didn't see it on the 2-CD track listing. It is my favorite number in the show.

[Mamamia Sammy2]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:54pm

Well, you'd better get out your smelling salts, because it was cut.

[mateo]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 12:54pm

yes - it was cut.


sadly, it is one of my favorite numbers too. Anika would have sung the hell out of it! I wish it was a featured bonus track.

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:08pm

it was indeed cut, and I didn't miss it.

[Kringas]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:14pm

I agree with you on almost all counts, although I did miss "Ain't No Party." Lorrell kind of gets screwed with the loss of that song. I also would have liked to have the "Show biz, it's just biz" motif included.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:15pm

"Ain't No Party" was not included in the script, therefore it was never filmed nor recorded.

No bonus track for the CD because it doesn't exist.

Now...Anika DID sing it for her filmed singing screen-test, so here's hoping THAT turns-up on either upcoming DVD.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:17pm

The cameos really bothered you THAT much? I had no problem with it. Although I do agree about some of the choreography. The onloy times it really didn't do it for me was the One Night Only (Disco Version) and Fake Your Way to the Top. Though, thanks to the beautiful cinematography, those weak dances were glossed over.

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:29pm

no, I wasn't "bothered" it just threw me out of the film for a split second to see Urkell back stage at the Apollo.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:32pm

Jaleel plays the stage manager at the DETROIT Theatre. The Dreamettes with Jimmy Early don't play the APOLLO Theatre until their "Steppin' to the Bad Side" production number.

Smart move since it shows Jimmy is getting better gigs than before, thanks to Curtis.

[thejcm]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:50pm

I haven't seen the movie yet but, while listening to the soundtrack, I also miss the "Show biz" motif. I also miss the part backstage after Jimmy's Rap. Is it at least spoken in the movie? I just love Lorrell's line after Jimmy says "Thank you Lorrell, baby you told it like it is." and she says "Yeah well that ain't all I got to say to you."

[Wildcard]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 1:55pm

I didn't take the movie too seriously when I first saw it so seeing those cameos made it sort of fun. It was easy to laugh at John Lithgow's hair, among the other things that BrodyFosse calls "camp", and hence, fun. To those yet to see the movie, don't bring any expectations. Just have fun.

[Pippin]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 2:01pm

yes, thecjm, all that dialogue is still in the film, and is very effective when spoken as opposed to sung.