`DREAMGIRLS' SHALLOW BUT SHOW-STOPPING.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic `Dreamgirls'' is entertainment of the highest and hollowest order. This long-awaited film adaptation of the hit stage musical -- which received five Golden Globe nominations -- could hardly look or sound better. It's one show-stopping moment after another, and there is no reason to feel ashamed if you burst into spontaneous applause a few times -- or even all the way through. It's that well-crafted a presentation. And all of that knockout singing and stage business had better work as well as it does. As in the live show, but perhaps even more so in the ironically more naturalistic movie medium, the thinness of the story line and two-dimensionality of the characters cannot be denied. Better to distract us from that with enough show-biz razzle-dazzle to make ``Chicago'' look like a PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, documentary by comparison. That film's screenwriter, Bill Condon Bill Condon (born William Condon on October 22, 1955) is an Academy Award winning American screenwriter and director. Biography Condon was born in New York City and attended Regis High School and Columbia College of Columbia University, where he studied philosophy. , wrote and directed the ``Dreamgirls'' adaptation. And while we might have expected a little more distinctiveness from a guy who's made such incisive personality studies as ``Gods and Monsters'' and ``Kinsey,'' Condon delivers movie- musical magic with an instinctive effectiveness that ``Chicago'' just never tapped into. In case you didn't know, this takeoff on the Supremes' story charts the rise of 1960s soul group the Dreams, which originally consists of beautiful, vanilla-voiced Deena (Beyonce Knowles), full-figured blues belter belter Noun Slang an outstanding person or event: a belter of a match Effie (``American Idol'' loser Jennifer Hudson) and goofy-girlish Lorrell (``Caroline, or Change'' Tony award winner Anika Noni Rose Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1973 in Bloomfield, Connecticut) is a Tony Award-winning American singer and actress. Early life Anika Noni Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut. When Rose was young she always wanted to be a vet. ). Ultimate betrayal Ruthless but canny manager Curtis (Jamie Foxx) turns the Dreams into superstars by, basically, betraying the more talented, less appealing-to- white-audiences Effie in favor of the more mainstream-marketable Deena. This doesn't only happen professionally, but in bed as well, and even though Effie's signature number, ``And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going,'' argues to the contrary, gone she gets -- until circumstances bring her back, many years later, into the unimaginably successful Dreamsworld. Knowles may be a little hard to buy as just an undertalented pretty face -- especially after she blows the roof off with ``Listen,'' one of four new songs co-written for the film by the stage show's composer Henry Krieger. But she gets Deena's frustration at being more of a showpiece show·piece n. Something exhibited, especially as an outstanding example of its kind. showpiece Noun 1. anything displayed or exhibited 2. than an artist across just fine. An amazing voice Hudson has the theoretically meatier role of mistreated, righteously angry Effie, and for a first-time movie actress with such an important part, she's very good. That nuclear-powered singing voice is an expressive instrument that even the latest THX A design system that provides realistic sound playback for movie and home theater from THX, Ltd., San Rafael, CA (www.thx.com), an independent spin-off from Lucasfilm, Ltd. The THX Sound System was developed during the production of the Return of the Jedi in 1982 and named after George sound systems may not do full justice to. Great actor that he keeps proving himself to be, Foxx is perfectly amoral a·mor·al adj. 1. Not admitting of moral distinctions or judgments; neither moral nor immoral. 2. Lacking moral sensibility; not caring about right and wrong. as mercenary Curtis, yet he gives the man humanizing shades of yearning and even sensitivity. Hollywood watchers are buzzing about Eddie Murphy's druggy drug·gy 1 Slang adj. drug·gi·er, drug·gi·est Of or relating to drugs or drug use: "boozy, druggy confessions" Vincent Canby. , flamboyant r&b wacko James ``Thunder'' Early, although it sometimes feels like Murphy's reheating Reheating The addition of heat to steam of reduced pressure after the steam has given up some of its energy by expansion through the high-pressure stages of a turbine. his old James Brown routine from ``Saturday Night Live This article is about the American television series. For the show related to Big Brother (UK), see Saturday Night Live (UK). Saturday Night Live (SNL .'' And when Early's sad fate comes to pass, we feel -- well, nothing, really, despite the movie's best efforts to frame it as grand tragedy. That's a function of the fundamental superficiality of the whole enterprise, and it affects the impact the other characters' triumphs, heartbreaks and reconciliations are meant to have as well. But who needs catharsis catharsis Purging or purification of emotions through art. The term is derived from the Greek katharsis (“purgation,” “cleansing”), a medical term used by Aristotle as a metaphor to describe the effects of dramatic tragedy on the spectator: by when there's so much eye-popping, foot-stomping enjoyment to absorb? ``Dreamgirls'' leaves you giddy with sensory pleasure in a way that a serious Diana Ross biopic bi·o·pic n. A film or television biography, often with fictionalized episodes. biopic Noun Informal a film based on the life of a famous person [bio(graphical) + pic(ture)] never, ever will. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com DREAMGIRLS - Three stars (PG-13: sex, language, drug use, racism) Starring: Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose, Danny Glover, Keith Robinson, Sharon Leal. Director: Bill Condon. Running time: 2 hr. 11 min. Playing: Cinerama Dome, Hollywood; $25 per ticket until Dec. 25, when it opens wide. In a nutshell: Slick, superficial and super-entertaining adaptation of the Broadway musical couldn't have better production numbers. Some characters with more than an inch of depth might have been nice, but that doesn't stop anybody here from acting and singing their hearts out. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Anika Noni Rose, left, Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson relive the '60s in ``Dream-girls.'' |
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