Dreamgirls!!!
Hooray for musicals!
When I was home for a week, I went to see Dreamgirls with my mom and sister. We had a fun time. None of us expected a full-blown musical but we were pleasantly surprised.
The film chronicles the rise of a Detroit-based girl group during the Motown era. Basically, it's the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes with names changed to protect the guilty (and avoid nasty copyright infringement issues).
All I can say is that the film was worth the $8.50. It's been quite a while since I've heard people clap in a movie theater but Jennifer Hudson sang that good. I wanted to get really black and shout while I waved a hankerchief but my mom was thoroughly convinced I was disturbing the people in front of us. Besides, I don't own any hankerchiefs.
Nonetheless, Jennifer Hudson has so much voice that I don't think Beyonce should sing anywhere near her ever again. She makes Beyonce sound like she's playing games. Or trying out for a high school talent show. It's almost heartbreaking (for Beyonce).
This film was very well cast. It's nice to see all of the characters fit their roles--even if that means that Eddie Murphy playing Johnny Early ends up being a Motown-singing guy that acts a lot like Eddie Murphy. Here, it works.
I'll be really interested to see how Dreamgirls shapes up in the awards season. If they win, at least my mouth won't hang agape as it did during Three 6 Mafia's Oscar acceptance speech (fast foward to 6:15) for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."
[Yes, he did say, "Thank you Jesus." *sigh*]
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4 comments:
I was skepticle about the film version of "Dreamgirls". I never saw the Broadway play but I remember the commercials like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFbOJHnkN9s But I was blown away by the movie. I love Bollywood as well and this rivals the best of them. A true Hollywood classic, it trandscends race, religion and class. And Jennifer is superb; when you compare her to the original Jennifer, like this Tony Awards performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg32-O-AHyE she might actually rival her performance.
P.S. Poor Beyonce. She has been stating in interviews that she had to hold back in her performance; she couldn't be herself. Sorry girl, you are Deena.
I heard this was a good movie. Beyonce has an okay voice, but friends of mine always liked Kelly Rowland better.:) By the way, if you're interested in Indian fashion, check out this site:
http://www.kaneesha.com/
Poor beyonce! Especially since i bet she's not used to being overshadowed in a singing trio! But i always thought that even the semi finalists on the Idol series are more talented than some of our singing superstars!
-Amy
Yep, Jennifer stole the show in all ways - acting, singing, beauty, presence, "star quality".
And Beyonce played herself - a pretty girl who's image is pimped as a quality singer.
However, the difference being that Beyonce does have talent, she writes and produces her own songs right?
I read an interview where she says she could have gained 20 pounds and played Effie - sorry girl, I doubt that even with 20 extra pounds and not "holding yourself back" that you could carry off what Jennifer did. But she chose to lose 20 instead and play Deena coz she felt she was born to play that role. She could be right there. The role did suit her and although her acting was not as good as Jennifer's, still I thought she did an OK job in the movie.
By the way, there is controversy over Beyonce's age. She is claiming to be in her mid-twenties but some say according to her birth certificate she is in her thirties. After seeing her skinny in this movie (MASTER CLEANSE - lemon, maple syrup, water and touch of cayenne pepper, did it myself once), I have to say that the lines around her mouth gave away her age as indeed thirties. People tend to look older when they lose weight in their face.
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