Dreamgirls (1st thoughts)

For those who are expecting anything more than a "rise-to-stardom" tale beginning with characters who are seemingly in their utopia of good fortune at first, then slowly hits a downside after their personal lives collapse.... don't bother watching this. While the film never thinks of itself anymore than than average, the flaws are still apparent, and it is far from Best Picture quality. It does not even surpass similar films such as Walk the Line or Chicago. The former has a strong central relationship which lifts the film's more trite moments into a nice melodrama while the latter just seems to have a stronger narrative flow.

The first act of Dreamgirls is the girls at their beginning, singing and auditioning, and begging. The characters dynamics and motives could not be anymore definable. Since Foxx's character resembles the classic "talent scout" character who sees something special in these girls. It already establishes its predictability right away, as certainly the audience knows that Foxx will recruit them right away, test them out, and thus begins their rise at stardom. The imagery are flashing light bulbs, more expensive merchandise, and images of billboard charts. Apart from that, the first act could not be anymore dull. We understand the characters' sense of purpose (they all want to be stars), but nothing is said about their backgrounds, their qualms about stardom, or anything that can give them more depth. They seem to all just run excited over their luck at the same time excessive imagery describing their newfound success flashes over and over again. That is just a classic case of one-dimensionality. It is simply just a cliche.

The second act presents basically the same thing apart from one major conflict. That conflict is the breaking point in mood of the film; while the first is optimism, the second begins the disagreeing nature of forming a singing duo. The motive of Foxx of intentionally stripping Hudson of her stardom is prompted by nothing more his envy, spite, and dislike of her. Nothing more is said, she throws a tantrum of jealousy, and makes a triumpant exit. The third act is by far the messiest. Three stories seem to run at once, at a back and forth pace. It all seems to highlight the one major theme of the film, "we rise and we fall"... since the "fortunate characters" in the second act now hold antithetical lifestyles; again the themes are as deep as "we're bored of stardom," "we're all washed out", or "we make a comeback." That is exactly the case between Beyonce, Hudson, and Murphy's characters after the major conflict of Hudson leaving the band. However, Beyonce's character becoming more sensitive, more aware of herself seems to be a defining moment of her true character, her knowledge that she abandoned Effie, her career a possible fluke, and the discomfort of her all-too-perfect-world is well done and a great moment in the film. However, Effie's character is again easily definable, she now works as a single mom, and nothing much else is highlighted other than she now found out the truth behind her departure from the band.

On the performance side, while at the beginning, I felt that both Jen-Hud and Beyonce held back their voice and created sort of mute performances, especially of Beyonce playing the "sparkling girl," she improves and gives a solid portrayal in the latter act by a more mature front, she sinks into a sort of comfort zone when she is able to give a sensitive side to her character, such as: long glances, scoffing, and a quiet demeanor. I really liked her in the film. However, Jen-Hud grows progressively worse and turns a prissy, frowning, loud-voiced performance.

The final verdict is that the film is ok, at about the level of The Queen, but I certainly cannot deem this movie without flaws considering the lack of dimensionality in the characters and excessive imagery and song use used everytime to highlight what someone feels. I like the songs, but some of the moments are rather obvious. 6/10