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Dreamgirls

by Stephanie Casher on January 10, 2007


So I finally got to see Dreamgirls yesterday… All I can say is – Wow. Now RENT will always be my all-time favorite musical-turned-movie, but Dreamgirls did not disappoint. In fact, thanks to Jennifer Hudson, it blew my greatest expectations completely out of the water.

There was a lot of talent packed into this movie. Eddie Murphy, Jaime Fox, Danny Glover, that hot guy that plays Effie’s brother (hello crush!). Every single actor in this film nailed their performance, and virtually every scene was a joy to watch. But Jennifer Hudson was the Star. She was incredible, just incredible. I swear to God, every time she opened her mouth, tears formed in my eyes. Her performance of “And I am telling you” is, in my opinion, the best musical performance in a film ever. EVER. Outstanding, simply outstanding. (It bears repeating). If I had been watching this movie on TiVo, I would have backed that scene up over and over again; it was so powerful I actually cried. The woman did not just steal a scene — she stole the whole damn movie…

I do not understand how the role of Hudson’s Effie White could be billed as “supporting,” considering how much the movie revolved around her. When she wasn’t in the scene, I found myself anxiously awaiting her return. It confuses me that Beyonce is being promoted as the “lead” actress. Most of her stuff must have ended up on the cutting room floor, cause I wasn’t feeling her presence the way it was being hyped. Don’t get me wrong, Beyonce wasn’t bad–she was perfectly cast as Deena Jones, and is an exceptionally beautiful woman. But the clear star of the show is Miss Jennifer Hudson…

J-Hud’s being nominated left and right for her performance (she already took home the New York Film Critics “Best Supporting Actress” award), and I hope she makes a clean sweep of all the awards shows. She absolutely deserves it. It is so satisfying to see a talent who was done so wrong on American Idol (“America” voted her off early for being ‘heavy’ and having ‘attitude’ when she was singing circles around those kids) rise to the top in a story that nicely parallels that of Effie White. You know me, always rooting for the underdog :-)

Great movie!! Four stars!!!!

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