Martin's Musings

Can Dreamgirls really live up to the hype? I mean, you can’t shake a stick these days without seeing a story (like the one I wrote about Jennifer Hudson) or seeing a commercial or hearing a song or something related to the movie. But the good news is that the hype is justified: Dreamgirls is one of the best times you will have at the movies this year.

A big, slick, well-orchestrated Hollywood machine (and that’s really the only word you can use for it), Dreamgirls tells the story of a 1960s Supremes-like girl group and how their rise to great fame takes its toll on the girls’ friendship. Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that the movie is based on a Broadway show, and that Beyonce plays the Diana Ross role (and though she tries to deny it, there’s no escaping the comparison), Jamie Foxx is the villainous Berry Gordy-type, and Eddie Murphy is the James Brown-esque soul singer who the girls initially attach their fortunes to. The film is substantial and not lightweight, with a strong statement about what really makes a star.

Not surprisingly, while the acting across the board is good, the film belongs to the women. Hudson’s performance of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” is already the stuff of legend, and for good reason. It’s a fierce, powerful performance — both vocally and visually — and like the words Hudson’s character is singing, Hudson is daring you not to love her. When she finished, a guy behind me said, “She turned it out!” and most folks burst into applause. The sound system where I saw the movie was less-than-optimal, but Hudson’s performance here is so towering that it overcame the technical issues. She’ll earn the Oscar for that scene alone. And Beyonce’s “Listen” turned me into a serious fan. The song was written for the film, and she just blows the roof off with her passionate performance of it.

To be honest, though, the film and show do a real disservice to both women, especially Hudson. She has a few good songs (I also really like “Love You I Do,” another song written just for the movie), but after her big number halfway through, Hudson basically disappears. Suddenly the movie is all about Beyonce and Hudson is stuck in the background, right when she’s upstaged everyone else on screen. Beyonce, too, is basically nice to look at and she generally holds her own acting-wise, but her only really good moment comes near the end when she’s belting that song. I wish the show/movie’s creators had seized the momentum of Hudson’s performance better and gave Beyonce more chances to blow us away. Instead, both get these huge showstopping moments that make the rest of their performance seem less impressive.

But no matter. As a whole, Dreamgirls is a great, wholly entertaining movie. I was tapping my feet, holding back applause, and smiling through most of the film. When the lights came up, I started to make plans to see it again as soon as I could, in a theater with better sound. Right now, I can’t wait. Dreamgirls gets an A–.

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Update, 12/31: I’ve now seen this movie twice and I don’t know if it was the better presentation quality or that I knew what to expect, but I have to say, unsurprisingly, I enjoyed Dreamgirls much more the second time. Jennifer Hudson’s performance came off much better to me — it didn’t seem as lacking in the second half — and even Beyonce was impressive throughout. This second time I appreciated stuff I didn’t appreciate as much the first time, like Eddie Murphy’s performance; it’s also really good. Yes, the movie is a bit lopsided, with all the good music in the first half and all the serious drama in the second, but it doesn’t drag, and this time I felt more invested in the plot so it came off as a better movie. And let me just say this: if you’re going to see Dreamgirls, see it the way it’s meant to be seen, on a big screen with big, clear sound. It makes all the difference. I’d see it again. And again. I really like this movie.

On the way home after seeing The Pursuit of Happyness, I was trying to come up with a better, more appropriate title for the movie.

You see, not only does the title — with that too-obvious misspelling — not really fit, but it’s also kind of a misnomer because the movie isn’t really all that happy.

In fact, it’s kind of a drag.

Happyness tells the true-life story of Chris Gardner, who, determined to raise his five-year-old son on his own, struggles to make ends meet by selling an overpriced piece of medical equipment while taking part in an upaid internship at Dean Witter.

At one point, Gardner has no money to his name and is forced to stay with his son overnight in the men’s room of a subway station. But this is an inspirational story, so it’s not giving anything away to say things work out in the end. It’s just that that part of the story is at the very end, and it takes a long time to get there. Continue reading →

While I can’t say Blood Diamond rocked my world, I was impressed once again by Leonardo DiCaprio. Man, between this film and The Departed, it’s like the guy has grown up and found a really cool on-screen persona. It’s mostly all in the facial hair, but his face now just shows more age and edge. (And I still think he looks like he could be Eric Dane‘s younger brother.) Here he plays a diamond smuggler, and while he’s really not a very good guy, or even the film’s hero, you have to root for him. Sure, that’s because he’s Leonardo DiCaprio, but still, you want him to succeed. I guess therein lies one of the film’s problems, that you are rooting for the wrong guy, but it’s more than that. Jennifer Connelly’s character — the reporter with a heart of gold who gives DiCaprio’s character a conscience — is a too-convenient love interest. And it’s too long (nearly 2.5 hours). All told, the parts don’t add up to a compelling whole. But Leo’s pretty good. Not run-out-and-see-this-movie good, but good in that he makes the film worthwhile if you do see it. I give Blood Diamond a B-.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
— Albert Einstein

On the surface, The History Boys is about a group of British high school students trying to get into Cambridge and Oxford universities (aka: Oxbridge). But it’s also about the value of book smarts vs creative/free thought, and about an inspiring teacher with unconventional methods (including a penchant for quoting random film/music/poetry), and a teacher with a habit of fondling his students while giving them rides home aboard his motorbike, the value of education in the real world, and much more. Think Dead Poets Society with British accents and a gay subtext. The theatrical version of The History Boys won a record six Tony Awards in May (including Best Play), and it’s no wonder — this is a really interesting and enjoyable story, with great performances across the board, plenty of quotable lines, and a great message. (If you don’t know, the film’s cast and director are the exact same ones as the Broadway play.) No doubt you may overlook this movie when so many more-hyped films are at the multiplex these days, but if you’re looking for something less-than-mainstream, give The History Boys a try. I give it a strong B+. (And yes, I realize this review doesn’t even come close to justifying why I liked the movie so much, but I suppose I’m just at a loss for words — ironically enough.)