On my high school trip to New York City in November of 1982, I was lucky to see the original Broadway cast of Dreamgirls including Jennifer Holiday, who won the Tony for her performance as Effie White, and, as a result, my expectations have been very high for this movie from Paramount. In fact, I thought my expectations might be too high. That’s why I am surprised to be writing a review about my favorite movie of the year. It’s better than I could have ever imagined.

For those that don’t know the show, it’s about the rise of an all-girl group called The Dreamettes. These childhood friends are Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), Deena (Beyonce Knowles) and lead singer Effie (Jennifer Hudson). Once the girls fall under the sway of slick manager Curtis Taylor, he renames the group The Dreams and makes the classically beautiful Deena the lead vocalist for the trio, pushing the less shapely Effie to background vocalist. Curtis and Deena also become romantically involved.

The story is “loosely” based on the Supremes. In the group’s early days, Flo Ballard was replaced by Diana Ross as lead vocalist. The manager who fell in love with Ross was Motown founder Berry Gordy. It should be mentioned that everyone – from The Supremes, Motown, and everyone associated with the film – deny that the Broadway musical or this movie have anything to do with the real-life story of Diana Ross and Flo Ballard, but it’s clear that it is their story.

Like Flo Ballard was kicked out of the Supremes, Effie is booted from The Dreams. I always felt that the toughest part of making this movie was finding the right actress to play the Effie role. Holiday was a mountain of a woman. She belted and growled and sobbed her way through the show-stopping “And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going” in a Vesuvius of a performance, and it was hard to imagine anyone matching her intensity without imitating her style. Jennifer Hudson, who was rejected by Simon Cowell on American Idol a couple of years back, delivers what will be the most-talked-about performance of the year. She captures the spirit of Holiday’s performance while putting her own very original stamp on it.

It’s hard to imagine Hudson not winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. I saw the film with a theatre full of jaded industry types, and there was applause after her rendition of the Jennifer Holiday now-classic. The other revelation of Dreamgirls is Eddie Murphy, who plays Jimmy “Thunder” Early. We all know that Murphy can sing. Who could forget the sophisticated lyrics of “My Girl Wants To Party All the Time”? But, here we get the most heartfelt and emotionally raw performance of his career.

Jimmy Early is a cross between James Brown and Little Richard. At the beginning of the film, he’s a major musical force, but his star falls and he becomes a washed-up has-been. In Murphy’s best scene, he becomes frustrated with singing smooth adult contemporary soul during a live performance and breaks into an animated funk jam that spells the end of his career. It’s engaging and entertaining and desperate and sad all at once. The early horserace for Best Supporting Actor has Murphy and Jack Nicholson in The Departed in a flat-footed tie.

Bill Condon is best known for Gods & Monsters, which one him the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 1999, and for writing and directing the Academy Award nominated Kinsey last year, but he’s no novice in the musical genre. He adapted Best Picture winner Chicago for the screen giving director Rob Marshall a perfect blueprint to work from, and his deft hand is felt in this script as well.

Condon smartly places this film in an actual time and place. It’s the 60’s in Detroit and there is a race war raging in the streets. It is against this backdrop of racial strife that we watch these talented black performers pursue their creative destiny. Do they abandon their black roots? Are they selling out? Can they stay true to themselves and be successful?

This movie is in perpetual motion. The story flies, the music tells the story seamlessly, the production design and costumes have flash without crossing over into camp. Although Hudson and Murphy steal the show, Beyonce Knowles establishes herself as a real actress, and her song “Listen” is a highlight of the film. Jamie Foxx is solid, but his role is not a sympathetic one. Even Loretta Devine, one of the original Broadway Dreamgirls shows up for a number as Condon pays homage to Bennett’s stage original.

There’s one movie every year that stands out above all others, and for me in 2006, it’s Dreamgirls. Michael Bennett himself would certainly approve of what David Geffen and Bill Condon have so painstakingly and perfectly realized. For any fan of the original show, you’ll agree that, although it took 25 years to be made, it was worth the wait.

FantasyMoguls.com Lowdown for Dreamgirls:

Original FantasyMoguls.com projections for Dreamgirls were for $71 million in box, 7.4 review score, 8 Top 5 points and 9 points for Per Theater Average (PTA). Based on a review of the movie and updated tracking information, here are Steve's revised projections:
Box Office: $180 million
Review: 8.0
Top 5: 15
PTA: 13