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Film review

The singing is supreme

Musically, Dreamgirls is exceptional. It's the story that's out of synch.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published December 21, 2006

	The Dreamettes (from left, Anika Noni Rose, Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson) perform in Dreamgirls, which is loosely based on the Supremes.
[Paramount Pictures]

The songs in Dreamgirls are irresistible.

Former American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson, in her first film role, is sensational.

The hype building to the film's nationwide opening on Monday - the Oprah interviews, the Extra "exclusives," the prerelease Golden Globe nominations - is phenomenal.

And yet, Dreamgirls falls short as a movie because it lacks a cinematic hook to forge these great musical pieces into a dramatic whole.

Director Bill Condon was the perfect choice to bring Dreamgirls from Broadway to the screen. He concocted a brilliant conceit for the Oscar-winning Chicago. Like Dreamgirls, that Broadway smash is essentially a musical revue with a skeletal story. Condon reimagined the Chicago songs as Roxie Hart's schizophrenic fantasies, providing sturdy motivation for characters to spontaneously break into song. Her mind was the stage, not the screen, and it was magical.

Without such a scheme, Dreamgirls seldom strays from Broadway theatrics. Condon offers plenty of razzle-dazzle from his director's chair: kinetic cameras and splashy set and costume designs. However, when folks aren't singing or shimmying, Condon the writer doesn't have them doing much to advance the plot. We practically need a Playbill to clarify what's happening and when, or why situations have changed.

Dreamgirls is loosely based on the career of the Supremes, a 1960s female trio that spearheaded the Motown sound created by music mogul Berry Gordy. Diana Ross became a star when Gordy shoved aside founder Florence Ballard, who by most accounts had a better voice but lacked the sex appeal to cross over to white audiences.

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx takes the Gordy-style role, a flashy promoter named Curtis Taylor Jr. whose biggest star, James "Thunder" Early Eddie Murphy, keeps his music defiantly "black." That's fine for Detroit, but Curtis has the world in mind.

Early's boorish way with women sends his backup singers packing. Curtis hires the Dreamettes in a pinch and stars are born.

The heart and soul of the trio is Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), with a dynamic voice and too much junk in the trunk. Effie and Curtis are an item until he realizes Deena Jones (Beyonce Knowles) has the superstar look America craves.

Effie gets dumped from his bed and talent roster, replaced in both by Deena. Dreamgirls traces the renamed Dreams' rise, Early's and Effie's falls and the changing musical landscape.

Enough about the plot, since it doesn't matter, anyway. Condon's film is all about the music, a sparkling pastiche of quasi-Motown styles and white radio ripoffs. The history of artists such as Elvis Presley co-opting African-American rhythms isn't explored much. Neither is the era that made crossing over so difficult - and so imperative - for black artists. Personal conflicts eat up time that could be better used singing.

Dreamgirls' best moments are when songs do the emoting, such as the Dreams' kiss-off to Effie, It's All Over, and her electrifying response, And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going. Both hinge on the enormous talent of Hudson, a former American Idol finalist who should demand a recount. Her impassioned, unrestrained vocals are goose bumps material, and an Oscar nomination is likely.

The same goes for Murphy's arresting composite of James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke, all sex, swivels and syrupy vocals. Early also gets the heaviest drama besides Effie's: drug addiction and fading fame. Murphy displays acting chops we've never seen before.

Knowles and Foxx pale in comparison due to underwritten roles, not a lack of talent.

Dreamgirls' charismatic cast can shake rafters with their voices and temporarily charm the socks off cynics. This doesn't ensure a great musical, just a great time at the movies. After all the hype and 25 years of expectations, that isn't quite enough.

Dreamgirls (opens Monday)

Grade: B

Director: Bill Condon

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Sharon Leal

Screenplay: Bill Condon, based upon Tom Eyen's stage book

Rating: PG-13; profanity, sexual situations, drug abuse

Running time: 130 min.

The originals

Where are they now?

The original Supremes, whose story is the basis for Dreamgirls, are Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Diana Ross. Cindy Birdsong replaced Ballard when she left the group in 1967. Some history:

- Ballard died in 1976 at 32.

- Wilson, 62, still records and tours. The Supremes with Mary Wilson were at the Florida State Fair this year.

- Ross, 62, recently released abroad I Love You, her first studio album in seven years. The North American release is scheduled for early next year.

- Birdsong, 67, is a minister in Los Angeles.

- The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

- Berry Gordy, 77, the Motown mogul on whom Jamie Foxx character is based, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. He sold Motown in 1988.

- Jennifer Holliday, 46, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Effie White in the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls, still performs, though she hasn't recorded an album since the late 1990s. In 2002, she was the star of a fundraising gala at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg and one of the stars at Diva-fest, a Pridefest event in Tampa.

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 10:43:09]