Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

adonis98-743-186503 Detroit, the early 1960s. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. He signs a trio of young women, the Dreamettes, gets them a job backing an R&B performer, James "Thunder" Early, establishes his own record label and starts wheeling and dealing. Bill Condon is a pretty good director and i have enjoyed some of his other movies but this one was definitely the weakest. I mean in terms of music? the actors did a very good job for sure but in terms of an actual storyline? it was kinda disappointing and muddled. (5/10)

classicsoncall Set as it is in the Motown era of the Sixties, it's not hard to draw a comparison between the Dreamgirls of the title and the hit-making Supremes, along with a character like Jimmy Early, who seems to be a composite performer based on Little Richard, James Brown, and Smokey Robinson. But with Eddie Murphy in the role, a bit too much of Eddie Murphy's personality comes through, almost as if he's doing a parody on Saturday Night Live. There's also a late film addition of a Jackson Five knock-off. But with all the Motown elements, it didn't feel like a story set in the era, but one designed for the year in which it was made.All of that is not necessarily a bad thing. As movie musicals go, this one was entertaining enough for this viewer, even if I'm not a fan of the genre myself. What I found particularly interesting were the scene transitions, like when Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) auditioned for Max Washington (Ken Washington) in a small room, and the setting changed to a night club performance in front of an attentive crowd. There were a few scenes like that, that were nicely done.Of course, all the singers were quite good, but when the stage dynamic switched to the actors and actresses singing to each other, both the song lyrics and situations seemed awkward at times. I guess the biggest surprise for me was hearing what a powerful voice Jennifer Hudson has. Since my personal Golden Age of music occurred during The Sixties with the British Invasion, The Surf Sound, and of course Motown, I'm not as in tune to current singers like Hudson and Beyoncé. As entertaining as they are, their musical style is just not my favorite type of listening pleasure.But overall, if you like movie musicals, this one ought to satisfy. At just over two hours, I never got an antsy feeling while watching, so for me, that's saying something. Visually it's also a great experience, as the costuming and stage presentations are quite colorful. The dynamic among the characters is also compelling enough to keep one's attention, right up until the final curtain.

statuskuo A highly effective facade of one of the most fascinating girl groups to come out of Motor City. This movie has great musical numbers. A love triangle. Some fantastic performances that span decades. Rollicking music. It moves fast and hard, and those who suffer attention deficit, you won't even realize you've moved on to the next era, less you blink. This movie is tops. A fine production that takes a stage play and makes it cinematic (which are often disastrous).I did have a single issue though, some of the music...sounds very much like a orchestrated or "fake" version of what is presumably the song they are mimicking. Some of the tunes will be VERY familiar. Specifically a segment where this bizarro version of the Jackson 5 do a number for t.v. It's somewhat unsettling. Like when they make up fake NFL teams for a football movie. Just feels a little off.Otherwise, a solid musical movie.

Erik P In many ways I wish more time had been written over the story (it is a bit like a trailing story rolling through the lives of these 3/4 female singers). Also, the way the words of the songs they performed reflected so closely the situation in the film made it a bit cheesy and there was a period in the middle where there were just too many songs sung about what was happening, such that I was about to stop watching. In some ways I wish this had been done with similar songs, but not as a musical.The singing doesn't really reflect the period (more like beyoncé style ballads) however, this film has a lot of positive aspects..I absolutely hate Eddy Murphy and actively avoid all films he is in, but on this occasion I felt he was very good and filled the role perfectly. Jennifer Hudson is one of my favourite actresses, and she didn't disappoint, and she sung some stunning songs. Indeed, you really get your money's worth when it comes to the number of songs, and despite not having the most profound lyrics, some are very touching and make up for the weak depth of the story (and this weird superficial reference to the civil rights movement and I think Vietnam, but it never really became part of the film).It is maybe targeted at 18-25 year old women, especially beyoncé fans, who will love this film. As a 42 year old man, despite being bored in parts, and despite the above criticisms, and despite the fact that I will forget the film by tomorrow, at the end I can say I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and it was a real Saturday afternoon pleasure. You don't have to think, the women are beautiful, some nice songs, and it did make me cry at the end.