DREAMGIRLS is a very weak film. I went in wanting to like it, but it just doesn't stand up. The story is slow and predictable, full of cliches, and characters are all one-dimensional. The entire movie is very claustrophobic, all taking place on various stages and never existing in the real world (even though the film sets itself up as an historical epic by trying to incorporate visual icons of the era, albeit in a very clumsy fashion). Performances are better than the movie deserves. Beyonce is much better than might be expected. Newcomer Jennifer Hudson is a standout, but someone needs to tell her there is more to singing than yelling. The music is pretty weak; I don't think there's single memorable melody in the show, and the songs are non-stop. I don't remember one dialogue scene in the film. The effect of all this is very draining, and not in a good way. In the climax of the film all I could think was "Does this song EVER end???" The film starts feeling long about two-thirds of the way through.
It's a shame, as movie musicals are making a comeback, that we have such a conservative and old-fashioned attempt at filmmaking when movies like MOULIN ROUGE clearly show that taking chances is worthwhile.
3 comments:
Does this imply you believe MOULIN ROUGE was a good movie? I'm hoping that it is *not* the trend in musicals as I felt it was shot to be a tour de force of editing more than anything else.
Here's my idea of a good musical: SPINAL TAP. :P
Does this imply you think MOULIN ROUGE is a good film? Seems to me it was merely an exercise in showy editing. Let's hope that isn't the direction of future musicals.
Here's my idea of a good musical: SPINAL TAP. :P
I think MOULIN ROUGE was a creative film. No, I didn't love it (the third act was terrible), but I can appreciate it. DREAMGIRLS didn't even try to be creative.
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