You won't be disappointed!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Detroit, the early 1960s. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. He signs a trio of young women, the Dreamettes, gets them a job backing an R&B performer, James "Thunder" Early, establishes his own record label and starts wheeling and dealing. Bill Condon is a pretty good director and i have enjoyed some of his other movies but this one was definitely the weakest. I mean in terms of music? the actors did a very good job for sure but in terms of an actual storyline? it was kinda disappointing and muddled. (5/10)

Dreamgirls (2006)Plot In A Paragraph: A trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.Whilst Murphy signed on the dotted line first, I remember Jamie Foxx turned down his role due to Dreamworks refusing to meet his salary and demands. Obviously this was Post his Ray Oscar, and his ego was rumoured to be out of control (See his Miami Vice behaviour) So they started courting Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Terrence Howard. Foxx soon had a change of heart once Beyoncé was cast (after lobbying hard, auditioning and having a screen test) and he signed on at Dreamworks lower salary. Broadway veteran Anika Nona Rose was next onboard and former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson was cast in the main role of Effie (in her first movie) last.Foxx is OK, but I've never been overly impressed by him. In his first movie in front of the camera for three years, Eddie Murphy is clearly energised by having a meaty supporting role in some good material, instead of a bland leading role in a kids movie. Jennifer Hudson won the Oscar for best supporting Actress, but personally I think she should have been up for Best Actress as she is not only equally a lead, she is the heart and soul of the movie. Whilst Danny Glover gives a solid supporting turn, I was surprised Beyoncé was as bland as she was. Admittedly she is not someone who I have much interest in, but I expected more from someone of her stature/status. Not only does Hudson act her off the screen, she sings her off it too!! Dreamgirls grossed $103 million at the domestic box office, to end the year the 19th highest grossing movie of 2006. This was Murphy's best performing (non kids movie) movie in 14 years.Not only did Murphy get the best reviews he had received in years, but after 5 Golden Globe nominations, Murphy finally took home the prize for Best Supporting Actor. He also scored an Oscar nomination. But instead of winning, Norbit happened. I'm in the camp or people who think Norbit cost him the Oscar.The timing couldn't have been worse. If Academy voters were thinking of rewarding Murphy for his performance here, Norbit came along just in time to change their minds. Whether or not it actually cost Murphy an Oscar can never be known. But there's no doubt it didn't help matters, It was universally despised by critics. And it embodied every criticism people had made about Murphy since The Nutty Professor. And as they were casting their votes, they will have seen the trailers and posters for Norbit everywhere.

Set as it is in the Motown era of the Sixties, it's not hard to draw a comparison between the Dreamgirls of the title and the hit-making Supremes, along with a character like Jimmy Early, who seems to be a composite performer based on Little Richard, James Brown, and Smokey Robinson. But with Eddie Murphy in the role, a bit too much of Eddie Murphy's personality comes through, almost as if he's doing a parody on Saturday Night Live. There's also a late film addition of a Jackson Five knock-off. But with all the Motown elements, it didn't feel like a story set in the era, but one designed for the year in which it was made.All of that is not necessarily a bad thing. As movie musicals go, this one was entertaining enough for this viewer, even if I'm not a fan of the genre myself. What I found particularly interesting were the scene transitions, like when Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) auditioned for Max Washington (Ken Washington) in a small room, and the setting changed to a night club performance in front of an attentive crowd. There were a few scenes like that, that were nicely done.Of course, all the singers were quite good, but when the stage dynamic switched to the actors and actresses singing to each other, both the song lyrics and situations seemed awkward at times. I guess the biggest surprise for me was hearing what a powerful voice Jennifer Hudson has. Since my personal Golden Age of music occurred during The Sixties with the British Invasion, The Surf Sound, and of course Motown, I'm not as in tune to current singers like Hudson and Beyoncé. As entertaining as they are, their musical style is just not my favorite type of listening pleasure.But overall, if you like movie musicals, this one ought to satisfy. At just over two hours, I never got an antsy feeling while watching, so for me, that's saying something. Visually it's also a great experience, as the costuming and stage presentations are quite colorful. The dynamic among the characters is also compelling enough to keep one's attention, right up until the final curtain.

The Supremes deserve a lot better.Dreamgirls is largely based on the story of The Supremes, the ground-breaking Motown group. However, the movie does them no justice. All the music in the movie was written especially for the movie. So you don't have any recognisable 60s songs. Plus, the songs are quite dull and don't really capture the sound of the 60s or of Motown.Throw in a rather linear script and unimaginative direction and the movie is nothing special. Plus, in a movie filled with musical performances, the director has random music-instead-of-acting scenes, like in a musical. It just seemed like overkill and totally unnecessary.Decent performances though. Eddie Murphy got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Not sure she deserved it though - she was good, but not THAT good. Then again, there wasn't much competition in that category in 2007.