Dreamgirls

I watched Dreamgirls with my neighbour on Sunday night. I have to say that I was not impressed.

***Spoilers Follow***
(…but it doesn’t much matter as the movie is so predictable anyway)

I am not a huge fan of R&B (too soppy and histrionic), so that probably didn’t improve this movie’s chances of grabbing me, especially since the musical numbers went on WAY too long. (First rule of showbiz: Leave ’em wanting more!) But more importantly, the character that Beyonce played was supposed to be conspicuously less talented than the character that Jennifer Hudson played and that was just not believably portrayed. I mean, this is Beyonce we are talking about! I’m not sure that anyone in the world is more fabulous than she is — she’s got the bod, the voice, the personality. And the camera just eats her up, so the audience can’t really get angry with the manager when Hudson get the boot. I mean come on, this is Beyonce! OF COURSE she is supposed to lead the group. A manager would be stupid not to put Madame Charisma front and center. And besides that, the storyline was so predictable and cliched: if you’ve ever seen a movie about a band, you have already seen this movie.

With so many Oscar nominations, I expected a much better movie. If you haven’t already seen it, don’t bother unless you really like super-melodramatic R&B and have 2+ hours that cannot be spent doing something more entertaining (like organizing your sock drawer).