Who knew that right under my very nose I had a spy!My new co-worker, Dino-Ray, read my previous blog item about Dreamgirls and casually let slip that HE'D ACTUALLY SEEN THE MOVIE ALREADY!So herewith are some of Dino's thoughts on Dreamgirls. Keep in mind this is not a review but merely a taste for those of us anxious for this movie to be brilliant. You should also know that in addition to being a snappy dresser, Dino is young -- when I asked if he'd seen Grease, he said, "You mean the old movie?"Take it away, Dino:
A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to catch a test screeningfor Dreamgirls...and it was a wonderful journey through the bellowsof '50s girl groups, '60s mellowness, '70s mirrorballed glamour andmost of all, it was the epitome of divaism.Honestly, I thought it was a breath of musical fresh air from previousmovie musicals like Rent and Phantom. But I wasn't necessarily wowedby it. I loved the music and I loved how Beyonce wasn't the mainfocus of the film. Well, she eventually became the main focus in thesecond half. As for the "American Idol" alum, Jennifer Hudson, sheamazed me. She was sassy, she outsang Beyonce and she has some decentacting skills. And by the way, Beyonce said the "F" word and smoked acigarette in the cut I saw. So much for that good-girl sex kittenimage.
I don't want to say that any of these actors had an Oscar-worthyperformance or anything, but Hudson did well for her first time outof the gates. In fact, at the end of the first act when she sang"And I Am Telling You" the whole audience started clapping as if wewere at an actual Broadway production. That was pretty damn good.She gave the song that was originally perfected by Jennifer Hollidaya lot of justice.I absolutely enjoyed the music. I am a big fan of funk, R&B, soul andall that stuff, so that part of the movie was a huge plus for me. Therewere times when I actually wanted them to sing rather than act andvice versa. So that imbalance didn't sit too well with me.Nonetheless, there may be an Oscar hidden in the veins of this moviesomewhere -- I just can't figure out where.The audience was very receptive to that, but when the charactersburst out into song out of nowhere, everyone in the audience startedgiggling. For one, I thought this was immature, because it's a musical.Wouldn't people expect that? Even so, I partly agree withthe audience, because these moments were a bit awkward. A lot of itdidn't flow too well (i.e. the transitions from the musical numbersto acting - it was a bit abrupt). But I did see a version of thefilm that is definitely going to be edited more - so I guess you haveto take that into consideration.Jaime Foxx was good, but I wasn't in awe of his acting abilities.In fact, I wasn't excited about his performance in Ray. As for EddieMurphy, he really surprised me....it's a far cry from Pluto Nash andRaw.I could go on and on, but overall I liked the film. It's not one ofthe best musical films I've seen but it ranks in the "above average"category. I am a Bill Condon fan (i.e. Gods and Monsters) so with himattached to this, I knew it wouldn't be a hot mess.
Thanks, Dino. For more from the mind of Dino-Ray, visit his Web site here.