NoFace for Film

At this point, nearly everyone has seen, or is aware of, Dreamgirls. (For an earlier review, click here.) Based on the Tony Award-winning musical by the same name, Dreamgirls was well-received by critics and won a decent number of awards. People flocked to the theaters during the holidays to watch the timeless tale of a young music group’s rocky journey to stardom. Yes, the plot is loosely based on the history of the Supremes and Diana Ross, but this story can apply to almost any group or musician. Friendships are broken, trust is betrayed, and people lose their soul on the path to fame.

Dreamgirls was surrounded with controversy from the get-go. Although most was regarding the supposed rivalry between co-stars Beyoncé Knowles (who played Deena Jones) and Jennifer Hudson (who played Effie White), it was Oscar season that really set tongues wagging. As predicted, the highly praised film would earn many nominations, including Best Supporting Actor nods for both Hudson and Eddie Murphy, whom many liked in the role of ebullient, charismatic singer Jimmy “Thunder” Early. However, jaws dropped when the film was passed for Best Picture. “How can this be?” people cried. “They were robbed!” others wailed. The reason why it wasn’t nominated is simple: it wasn’t that good.

Don’t get me wrong - I overall liked Dreamgirls. The music is catchy and great to sing along, and the costumes and set are fabulous. Jamie Foxx is terrific as the Dreams’ calculating manager Curtis. It’s amazing to see him start off being so likeable and ending up a soulless jerk. In general, the story flowed nicely. However, there are rocky parts. First of all, it’s strange that the film abruptly transitions from just having musical performances to the actors suddenly breaking out in song. Yes it’s a musical, but it should have been more consistent. Don’t change the format halfway through the movie.

Second, I wasn’t impressed with Hudson and Murphy’s acting. Hudson is a singer who plays a singer. Wow, that’s a stretch. Besides, the angry black diva role has been done before. As for Murphy, it’s not that hard to imitate James Brown and Jackie Wilson. Black comedians have been doing that for ages. I just figured that people were shocked that for once Murphy wasn’t the voice of a cartoon character, or not appearing in some brainless family comedy. That being said, I did prefer Murphy during the second half of the film, in which he portrays an older, somber, and haggard Jimmy.

Dreamgirls was recently released on HD DVD, under the title “2-Disc Showstopper Edition”. The film quality itself didn’t look that great to me, compared to say, Superman Returns in HD. I was hoping for some colors jumping out at me, especially considering Jimmy Early’s colorful outfits. Then again, considering that other reviews have praised the film quality, maybe it’s just my TV. The sound was crisp however, which is crucial for a film musical.

This 2-disc set is chock-full of special features, but they aren’t that different from the DVD Showstopper Edition, except that they’re in crystal clear HD. Disc 1 contains the film, Knowles’ music video for the underrated “Listen”, 12 extended scenes and musical numbers such as full length versions of “I am Changing”, “Steppin’ to the Bad Side”, and “Heavy”. I’m glad that they didn’t just weave the extended scenes in the film, because I didn’t really care for some of the music not sung by the main characters. The extra footage notably includes a Hudson musical performance of “Effie, Sing My Song,” which was not seen in the theatrical release.

Disc 2 is where the meat really is. There’s a two hour documentary called Building the Dream, which is a very detailed account of everything that went into creating the film, from the film’s Broadway roots to the actors that brought those beloved characters on the big screen. There’s also little features that focus on costume design and lighting, but what was especially cool were the previsualization sequences. Various scenes are shown via a combination of storyboards and rehearsals by the actors’ choreographers. Another feature I liked were the audition and screen test footage. The Knowles screen test featured her in full makeup and costume singing “Dreamgirls” with a piano accompanient. That scene demonstrated that the woman can actually sing, just differently from Hudson. There’s also a choreography audition of the “Steppin’ to the Bad Side” musical sequence, but while Keith Robinson (who played Effie’s brother C.C.) was present, other dancers performed in place of the actors (Foxx, Murphy, etc.)

If you’re a Dreamgirls fan, this is the ultimate version of the film for you.