Dreamgirls (5 Stars)

I went to see this film in the cinema with my daughter Fiona, probably in early 2007. It's not a film I would have chosen to see, but Fiona was a big fan of Beyoncé and asked me to go with her. I was impressed with the film, especially with the singing of Jennifer Hudson. Even my daughter had to admit that she outshone Beyoncé.

Immediately after the film I bought the soundtrack album as a gift for Fiona. After listening to it at home probably once, I put it in my car's CD player, and I wasn't allowed to take it out. Whether Fiona was in the car with me or not, it was always playing, so I listened to it for months.

At some point, not too long afterwards, I bought the film on DVD. I watched it with Fiona, but only once. She's not someone who likes to watch films repeatedly the way I do. Incidentally, at that time, 2007 to 2012, I was very close to Fiona. Whenever we watched films together she used to sit with her head on my shoulder. She was a real Daddy's girl, and I loved it. Then it suddenly stopped. I don't think there was a reason. She probably just woke up one morning and said to herself, "Hey, I'm 25 years old, why am I still cuddling with my Dad every day?" I miss this closeness. It's never returned since.

The film is about a fictional girl group in Detroit in the mid 1960's, the Dreams. Effi White (Jennifer Hudson, on the right) is the most talented singer in the group, but Deena Jones (Beyoncé, in the middle) is made the lead singer because their manager considers her to be more attractive. The passing of time isn't explicitly made clear in the film, but at the end of the film we're told that Effi's daughter is nine years old, so there must be 11 or 12 years from the beginning to the end of the film.

It's only possible to understand the film if you know that it's based on true events. Deena Jones is based on Diana Ross, the Dreams are the Supremes, and the whole film is about the rise and fall of the Tamla Motown record label. The names have been changed to allow more freedom in the script, i.e. fictional events can be added for dramatic effect without annoying the real life characters who are still alive today. Even so, apologies had to be made to some people who felt they were poorly represented in the film.

Jamie Foxx plays Curtis Taylor, the manager of Deena Jones and the Dreams. Initially he's Effi's lover, but later he marries Deena. Does he love Deena? Maybe he does, but it's made apparent that for him business always comes first. He manipulates his wife, planning her career around what makes the most money, not what she wants to do. He forces her to make a film about Cleopatra, even though she has no interest in acting. That's a shame. She would have been a beautiful Cleopatra.

Although, between you and me, I think Effi White would have been an even more beautiful Cleopatra. She's closer to my ideal of the perfect woman, even if Curtis thinks she's too plump to be the lead singer.

The film is about the music. The acting is good, but more importantly, the singing is excellent. Jennifer Hudson is an astounding singer. Her songs bring tears to my eyes, which is something Beyoncé could never do. She's one of the best singers that I know. As my regular readers know, I'm a fan of rock music, but I can appreciate the emotional depth of Jennifer's voice. It's her performance that carries the film. And she's pretty as well.

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