Dreamgirls (2006)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Bill Condon

Writers:

Bill Condon (screenplay)
Tom Eyen (book)

Release Date:

25 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical

Tagline:

Fame Comes And Goes, Stars Rise And Fall, But Dreams Live Forever

Plot:

Based on the Broadway musical, a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960's.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | 1960s | Broadway Musical | Star | Performer

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 42 wins & 46 nominations

Cast

Jamie Foxx	...	Curtis Taylor Jr.
Beyoncé Knowles	...	Deena Jones
Eddie Murphy	...	James 'Thunder' Early
Danny Glover	...	Marty Madison
Jennifer Hudson	...	Effie White
Anika Noni Rose	...	Lorrell Robinson
Keith Robinson	...	C.C. White
Sharon Leal	...	Michelle Morris
Hinton Battle	...	Wayne
Mariah I. Wilson	...	Magic (as Mariah Wilson)
Yvette Cason	...	May
Ken Page	...	Max Washington
Ralph Louis Harris	...	M.C. (as Ralph Harris)
Michael-Leon Wooley	...	Tiny Joe Dixon
Loretta Devine	...	Jazz Singer

Also Known As:

Dream Girls (International: English title) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug content.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | UK:12A (theatrical release) | Australia:M | Germany:o.Al. | Finland:K-7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13 | Brazil:12 | Norway:A | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Sweden:Btl | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Alexandria Hotel - 501 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Singer Usher Raymond was the first choice for the role of C.C. White, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. R&B singer Omarion Grandberry was also briefly considered before Keith Robinson was cast.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Effie goes to the welfare office, the American flag hanging on the back wall is backwards. The blue field should be in the upper-left corner.

Quotes:

Effie Melody White: That's right Curtis. You stopped me once, but you'll never stop me again.
[sings]
Effie Melody White: 'Cause this time, Effie White's gonna win!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in 2007 MTV Movie Awards (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Takin' the Long Way Home

Wow. And I thought it was going to be just "okay".

Fantabulous. Stupendous. I can't even believe it. I've changed my pick for Best Picture this year so many times you'd think I have multiple personalities. But let me tell you it's just been a tremendous year for film. Kudos all around. I tell you none of the BP nominees last year, could compete this year. And I loved Brokeback Mountain and Munich.

Dreamgirls is an amazing movie. I know what you're thinking. I didn't believe the hype either. But I saw it today and I actually don't think it's been hyped enough. Everyone deserves to be nominated. But it's just that kind of year, folks. Too many awesome performances not enough nominations. Of course the major buzz has been going to Jennifer Hudson and she does deserve as much praise as she's getting but that's because she's a 15. Everyone else is a 10. So she's better but it's ridiculous how awesome everyone else is. Of course Eddie Murphy's great. He's been in those movies where he plays like 10 fat people, which should have gotten him some recognition all these years, but of course they wouldn't go for that. But now that he's done such a great job here whatever awards he'll get, he'll deserve. And those of us who loved "Party All the Time" are definitely not surprised at his vocal prowess. Jamie Foxx is great again you know, but this time he's playing the villain so maybe that's why he's kinda been ignored. Anika Noni Rose. I don't know where she came from but I loved her too. All great voices. All great performances.

Beyonce. Okay, I'm not a huge fan. She's talented and I appreciated her acting from Austin Powers. Yeah that sounds weird but you could tell she was comfortable on screen and had a lot of fun. I don't generally like the way she and her contemporaries sing nowadays so I wasn't expecting much either way. I figured she'd be passable. But she did such a great job playing Diana Ross. Everything down to the gestures, and the fact that she wanted to lose weight for this, tells me that she definitely took her job seriously. And it paid off.

I think this is rated PG13. I can't remember why. I think there are a few bad words and one quick flash of some drugs. But I wouldn't mind taking a kid to this. Because there is so much more to it that's worth it. In a strange way I thought it would make a great double feature with Happy Feet. So much toe-tapping to be done. People waited in my theater through the credits for Jennifer Hudson's name/image to pop up and they all clapped. That never happens where I live either. Never. And there were little old ladies going "WOOHOO!" after a couple of Effie's songs.

If you like movies, this year go see everything. But make sure that you save time for this one. You're gonna love it.