DREAMGIRLS

"Ladies and Gentlemen..."

Childhood friends Deena (Knowles), Effie (Hudson) and Lorrell (Rose) knew they had the talent but they needed a break to get into show business. That came when they entered a Detroit talent contest and were spotted by aspiring agent Curtis Taylor, Jr. He organises them to be the backing singers for established artist James 'Thunder' Early (Murphy) and as they become more popular they become the first black act to break through into the pop charts. It is the girls that get noticed however and Curtis makes the decision to push their career, forming the Dreams and they quickly become the biggest selling female artists of 1960s.

After the Oscar winning success of 'Chicago', the musical is well and truly back for Hollywood and 'Dreamgirls' is next Broadway production to head to the silver screen but will it get you toes tapping or have you heading for the door?

Based on the hit musical that lit up Broadway in the 1980s, 'Chicago' screenwriter Bill Condon brings the story of an all girl trio that changes the face of music in the 1960s. While not the 'Diana Ross and the Supremes' story by name, this is essentially their story set to music. This is a very traditional musical, much in the style of their heyday in the back in the 1950s and 60s, were conversations, arguments and emotions are expressed through song but this is the film's major problem.

The traditional musical is a genre that has a target audience and they are the viewers that will get the most out of this movie. For your average filmgoer the constant barrage of songs makes the main story of the film and the development of the characters a very minor aspect of the film's production. Dialogue and situations just seem to be utilised to get you to the next song or extravagant number. This comes at the determent of the development of the characters and your investment in them. While the song do convey all of the emotion and drama of the piece, the fact that the characters are continually singing throughout in the same style, means that mood and even dramatic characterisation is lost on the none musical friendly audience.

The performances however make the film more watchable than it could have been. There is no argument that Beyoncé Knowles is an extremely beautiful and immensely talented singer and performer but she still has to prove that she is also an actress. She has a real screen presence but she has never played a part that she doesn't contribute a song or two the soundtrack. Jamie Foxx is excellent as the exploitive and manipulative Curtis Taylor but struggles slightly with the singing elements of the script. Eddie Murphy gives his best performance in years as outrageous R&B lothario James 'Thunder' Early. He really throws himself into the role and has a lot of fun with it. There is also good support from Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell, Danny Glover as aging agent Marty Madison and Keith Robinson as Dreams song writer C.C. White.

It is newcomer Jennifer Hudson that steals the film however. The former American Idol finalist makes her motion picture debut and is the highlight of the movie. She has real screen presence and a powerful voice that grabs you every time she performs. She also has probably the most developed character because Effie has the most dramatic story to tell, even though it is still fairly slight. Jennifer Hudson is going to be a real star.

'Dreamgirls' is a musical that only fans of the genre will get most out of. With well over thirty songs throughout its just over two hour duration, the constant bombardment will become a little too much for your average moviegoer. The performances do make for some of these shortcomings but the shallow story and lack of real character development make hard going for anyone other than musical fans.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Deleted Scenes (34.50 mins)
Entitled 'I'm looking for something', 'Goin' downtown', 'Takin' the long way home', 'Fake your way to the top', 'Steppin' to the bad side', 'Heavy', 'I'm somebody', 'I am changing', 'Perfect world', 'Effie, sing my song', 'One night only' and 'One night only (Disco Version)', these deleted or extended scenes suffer from the lack of an introduction or commentary to explain why they were removed.

Music Video 'Listen' by Beyoncé Knowles (3.49 mins)
Watch the promotional music video from the movie, with a sizzling performance from Beyoncé Knowles.

Trailers
Previews of 'Shrek the Third' and 'Transformers'

Disc 2

Building the Dream (1hr 54.55 mins)
Screenwriter/director Bill Condon, producers Laurence Mark and Patricia Whitcher, composer Henry Kriege, choreographer Fatima Robinson and stars Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Keith Robinson, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson take you through the entire process of bringing 'Dreamgirls' to the silver screen. Split into sections entitled 'On Broadway', 'The Dream is alive', 'I'm looking for something', 'Feel so real', 'You better move, move', 'The sound of tomorrow', 'Gonna take a mean ride: Side A & B' and 'One Night Only', this detailed documentary covers all aspects of the film's production, the history of 'Dreamgirls', casting and onto the premiere.

Dream Logic: Film Editing (4.08 mins)
Director Bill Condon, 1st Assistant editor Ian Slater and editor Virgina Katz reveal how over five and half hours worth of film is transformed into a two minutes musical sequence.

Dressing the Dreams: Costume Design (8.22 mins)
Costume designer Sharen Davis looks at the design of James "Thunder" Early, Curtis Taylor, Jr. and the Dreams costumes for the movie.

Centre Stage: Theatrical Lighting (8.44 mins)
Theatrical lighting designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauger take you through the lighting of the key performances from the movie.

Auditions and Screen Tests
Watch Beyoncé Knowles perform 'Dreamgirls', Anika Noni Rose perform 'Ain't no party' and choreographer Fatima Robinson's audition as her troop perform 'Steppin' to the Bad Side'.

Previsualization Sequences
Watch the animated storyboards and choreography rehearsals for 'The Talent Show', 'Fake your way to the top', 'Cadillac Car', 'Steppin' to the Bad Side', 'I want you Baby', 'Heavy' and 'Hard to say goodbye'.

Image Gallery
View galleries of the storyboards, costume designs, production designs and art department archives.

OVERALL

The two-disc special edition of 'Dreamgirls' is an excellent DVD package that fans will revel in. The almost two hour documentary covers almost every aspect of the film's production and the history of the musical. The only thing missing is a commentary track but the documentary more than makes up for this. This is how a DVD set should be put together.

DVD

Chicago

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