The film often abruptly goes from spoken dialogue to singing, which might have worked on Broadway, but doesn’t always feel right in this film. The music itself makes the viewer wish that they had abandoned some of the original Broadway music and replaced it with more of a Motown sound.
The worst part of the film is the way it drags on and on and on and on. Cutting this film by at least a quarter would have made the final scene in the movie, where the Dreamgirls reunite, more effective. But the reaction to this scene becomes more like “Finally!” than “Wow!” After this final scene, the audience did clap. Were they clapping because the film was finally over?
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Article comments
1 - Kami
The whole cast did such a wonderful job, but for me Jennifer Hudson was the best surprise of all! I found myself immersed in the story and it went by much too quickly. If you'd like to talk more about the movie please check out the official movie boards at www.dreamgirlsmovie.com
2 - sandra
I would give this film a 9/10 and can see where this author is coming from. I can definitely tell, from the review, that this author probably would have liked this film more if he hadn't heard the tremendous hype before seeing the film.
3 - Steve
I *completely* agree with this article, although I found the film to be quite a bit more annoying than he did. It starts off great, but there are too many jarring, screaming "soul ballads". The producers must have put "I'm not leaving" into the show as a subliminal message to the audience to stay in their seats. The ending comes way to late and is melodramatic and unsatisfying to say the least. I simply don't understand where all the hype is coming from.