Dreamgirls Reviews

Condon's adaptation is polished and enjoyable and yet something is missing from making it a truly great musical movie--perhaps a more coherent vision or unity.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

It compares to that other "legitimate" musical smash of recent vintage, Chicago. It just doesn't have the life or fun of Chicago.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

A tight and entertaining musical with a show stealing performance by Jennifer Hudson.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Dreamgirls opened on Xmas day and it was every much of a brilliant holiday movie. I guess the only complaint I have is it is too slick.

Full Review | Original Score: A-

There's a joy on screen -- a love for the material that's palpable and contagious -- but the material, in the end, lets them down.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

You may not be expecting this from a musical, but Dreamgirls is one of the most fast-paced, frenetically-edited, roller-coaster rides of a movie that you'll see all year.

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Dreamgirls is a splashy film with a great cast, strong performances, terrific music and an engrossing, though...familiar, story.

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There's no faint-praise here. It's the best film of the year.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

Newcomer Jennifer Hudson owns the movie with her magnetic presence and go-tell-it-on-the-mountain voice.* ** ** *

Full Review | Original Score: B-

Jennifer Hudson makes her acting debut in Bill Condon's Dreamgirls, and it's safe to say the phrase "star-making turn" was invented for performances like hers.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

I could have happily sat through the first half a second time, though I was barely able to sit through the second half once.

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To say that Dreamgirls is the best musical so far this century is to make no great claim for it. To say that it's the best film about the music business since 1996's Grace of My Heart and fit to be spoken of in the same breath says more.

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A stellar cast, stunning sets and costumes and engaging music make this a modern musical for a new generation.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

Few pictures can match the glamorous pull of Dreamgirls. Bill Condon's first big musical since Chicago is a glossy, gleaming Cadillac of a film with a vintage rhythm and blues engine tuned to perfection. The cast is dressed to kill.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

The opening rump-shaking immediately sets the tone: Dreamgirls pulses with sheer exuberance. When was the last time a musical, much less a huge Hollywood production, felt this alive?

Full Review | Original Score: 4/6

Eddie Murphy is worth the price of admission alone. He isn't so much a masculine stage presence as a walking erection with a quiff.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Entertaining, impressively directed musical drama with a show-stopping, Oscar-nominated performance by Jennifer Hudson.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Any movie that inspires an audience to clap during and after with such incredible performances is definitely worth your money.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

An old-school crowd-pleaser in the best Hollywood tradition, Dreamgirls is only let down by its piecemeal structure and nominal leading lady.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

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