JannyGurr Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Anyone have any thoughts on this film???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I love popcorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I liked it a lot, but I'm a sucker for Motown and the history and drama that has been part of that company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I liked it a lot, but I'm a sucker for Motown and the history and drama that has been part of that company. That's all I need to know. That "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" really reignited my passion for Motown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Paul I've got a ton of books on Motown, the various artists, including the book about James Jamerson which inspired "Standing.." "Dreamgirls" is loosely based on a book that Mary Wilson (of the Supremes) wrote about 25 years ago, "Dreamgirl: My Life As A Supreme." You can certainly find parallels between the Jennifer Hudson character and Supreme Florence Ballard, the Beyonce character and Diana Ross, Eddie Murphy's character (especially at the end of the movie) and Marvin Gaye, and of course, the Jamie Foxx character and Berry Gordy.This movie is certainly not for every taste, but for Motown lovers (even though the music is not really 'Motown-ish'), it's good viewing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early Wynn Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 My wife dragged me to it. I should have stayed home. Eddie Murphy was good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 As I said, the move is not for everyone - and if you don't like movies where in the middle of a scene the actor breaks into a song, this movie is not for you. Having read the Wilson book and knowing the history involved, I knew where the plot was going, but I still enjoyed the movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kiwi Connection Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Dreamgirls hasn't received very good reviews here in NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScentLady Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 You can certainly find parallels between the Jennifer Hudson character and Supreme Florence Ballard, the Beyonce character and Diana Ross, It was a little too close for Miss Ross' comfort. She attended a performance when the show was on Broadway. She walked out in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Aw gee Diana, TOO Freakin' BAD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScentLady Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Loved, loved, LOVED the movie!! I saw the play when it was on Broadway and enjoyed the movie even more. They wrote some additional songs for the movie -- "Listen" & "I Love You I Do" (which I'm hoping wins the Academy Award; just a fun, upbeat pop song). I especially enjoyed when the audience at my performance burst into applause and starting shouting things like "you go girl!" during Jennifer Holiday's performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." I think Jennifer Holiday's version is more powerful, but Hudson does a great job with the song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 I saw the play 20+ years ago in Montreal, but I also enjoyed the movie more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Well my wife and I just fandago'd a couple tickets for Monday, first free time we have.I know I'll love it. (Actually I'm not that much into the newer R&B sound, but Beyonce really has been good in everything I've heard her do.)My ilk support pretty much any music related movie. (See: Music geek ala "High Fidelity" record store clerk.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAM Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 The little lady & I just returned from watching "Dreamgirls". We found it very enjoyable. Hudson has one hell of a set of pipes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I haven't found the time to see this, yet, but my NYC friends who aren't easily impressed have RAVED about it to me!Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was the best comedy/musical of the year, although it won the Golden Globe. I see it didn't get one of the Best Picture nominations as far as Oscar action.I also understand that one Bill "Smokey" Robinson is extremely pissed at what he saw as the film's unfair portrayal of the Berry Gordy character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 A similar movie which I liked as much as "Dreamgirls", with, IMO, much better music, is "The Five Heartbeats", which came out around '90 or '91, starring Robert Townsend. I believe it was based roughly on the Temptations, with Townsend starring as a Curtis Mayfield-type songwriter/musical director of the group. The music in that flick was a lot closer to real Motown than "Dreamgirls".....but "The Five HBs" didn't start out as a Broadway show, either... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr E Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 It wasn't really what I was hoping for... I guess the fact that it was from a play/musical should have given that away but I didn't look close enough and missed that... Oh well, it wasn't awful... though it did seem a bit distorted and more like a smear campaign... no matter how vague they were there was no problem figuring out who was who. I would have watched it anyway as I always love movies about music.It certainly wasn't "Ray"...Kind of more like "Rent" (ugh.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Cartmill Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I'll save it for a rental in 2 months. Wait! I have a 7 month old! I have to save EVERY movie for a rental in 2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JannyGurr Posted January 30, 2007 Author Share Posted January 30, 2007 yes I read the Mary Wilson book as well as her second book-I believe this is what lead me to the film-Frankly I wish the movie had been more like the Ray Charles movie-a drama with music-Just my opinion.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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