Dreamgirls (2006)

	Directed by: Bill Condon	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama/Musical NORWEGIAN TITLE Dreamgirls RUNNING TIME 125 minutes
	Produced by: Laurence Mark
	Written by (based on the book by Tom Eyen): Bill Condon

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Curtis Taylor, Jr.	Jamie Foxx	½
Deena Jones	Beyoncé Knowles	½
James Early	Eddie Murphy
Marty Madison	Danny Glover
Effie White	Jennifer Hudson	½
Lorrell Robinson	Anika Noni Rose	½
C. C. White	Keith Robinson	½
Michelle Morris	Sharon Leal
Jerry Harris	John Lithgow

Review

Perhaps Americans love their musicals so much because they allow them to magnify any emotion to a degree that under normal circumstances would have been simply too much. It's as if all outlets are opened to the maximum level, with the music acting as a legitimising force. Unfortunately, in Bill Condon's Dreamgirls, these exaggerations become too translucent and unsubtle. It's a story told entirely in capital letters.

Based on Tom Eyen's 1981 Broadway musical of the same name, Dreamgirls is a tale of the rise (and fall) of a handful of R&B artists during the 1960s and 1970s. The account is loosely based around the career of The Supremes and the prosperity of the Motown label. However, centered around the overworked character of Effie White (based on real-life Florence Ballard), it becomes clear quite early that Dreamgirls uses its characters and conflicts as simple platforms for bloated musical numbers and simple solutions. The tragedy of Florence Ballard is reduced to the whimpering of Effie White. I blame Jennifer Hudson's inaptitude and Bill Condon's lack of refinement equally for this debacle.

The most interesting aspect of Dreamgirls is Eddie Murphy's character, James Early. He gives the film some bittersweet tenderness, embodying issues that cannot be solved with a two-minute singing act, which is how Condon concludes every other plot development in his film. This way, Condon makes sure to overanalyse every emotion he has just embellished.

The musical numbers are fresh initially, but their repetitive nature will wear you out unless you are extremely patient. Except for the vocal performances and the visuals, the film is marred by poor craftsmanship. It might have been rescued by a more relevant connection to the music history upon which the story is based. Unfortunately, Dreamgirls is more a show-off for current talent than an account of the people that inspired them. And Beyoncé Knowles never comes close to capturing anything but insipidness. Her Deena Jones is not likely someone Arne Næss Jr. would have fallen for.