Dreamgirls

I'm a fan of the old school movie musicals. I love me some Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. It's never bothered me in those that people just kind of randomly break out into songs. It's just one of those movie things you accept. And I'll watch them every now and then, but not really look for new things to see.

Well, until a couple of years ago, when Sheryl and I went to see Chicago, and I was floored. Absolutely floored. I loved the narrative conceit of all the music being in Roxie's head. I thought that Renee Zellweger did a passable job as Roxie, but that Richard Gere and Catherine Zeta-Jones blew that whole movie away. I was shocked to hear Gere sing and dance the way he did, and Zeta-Jones was liquid smoke on the screen. And John C. Reilly singing Mr. Cellophane? Scene stealer right there.

We didn't see Rent and we rented The Producers, which didn't really impress us. So Dreamgirls wasn't even on our radar until I read BST's post about it last week and he and I talked about it some and he said how blown away he was by it. So when Sheryl and I had a date night on Saturday we decided to give it a shot.

Ho.

Ly.

Crap.

If you kinda liked Chicago, or like musicals, or like great songs and great singing, do not miss this movie. Directed by Bill Condon, adapter of Chicago for the screen, this movie is a marvel. As much as it is based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, it's also a slide through the history of how African-American music became mainstream in pop. The cast is magnificent. Beyonce Knowles is gorgeous and Jamie Foxx is slick and sly. Danny Glover does some nice work in it too.

But there are two standouts: Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson.

Eddie. I won't go into his history, but I do own Beverly Hills Cop on DVD. Most of his fans will remember his James Brown portrayal on SNL back in the 70s and fewer people remember that he released a singing album in the 80s. In Dreamgirls, Eddie portrays one of the first black singers to crossover to the pop (white) charts, by toning down his music. But with the depth and strength and weakness he brings to the role, it just would not surprise me if his name isn't called on Oscar night.

Jennifer Hudson. I'm not a big American Idol fan. I like watching the auditions for the people willing to humiliate themselves for 30 seconds of airtime to try and be like William Hung. I don't really watch it, so I don't remember Jennifer Hudson singing on it. I will always remember her singing in this movie. There is one song that just blew the audience away so much that people clapped (!) at the end of it, as if we (and I applauded too) were in a theater and she could hear us. It's simply one of the most emotional performances I've ever seen on the screen, and she abso-frakkin'-lutely nails it. And if she's not carrying home an Oscar, it will be a crime.

See Dreamgirls. Seriously. Sheryl and I loved it so much that when we got home, I downloaded the Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack from iTunes. If you like musicals in the slightest, see it. If you like the Motown sound, see this movie. It's worth the time.