Johnny Simmons

Dreamgirls and Cold Mountain have a somewhat similar history. Both were fêted as shoo-ins for Oscar Picture glory when they were in post-production, both of them racked up a slew of nominations (7 for Minghella’s piece, 8 for Condon’s) without managing to attain that elusive best picture nod. More importantly, they both won that Supporting Actress statue – performances which have gone on to be reviled in many circles. I happen to be more than a moderate fan of Cold Mountain (which I’ve reviewed before) but I’m often indecisive about where my feelings on Dreamgirls lie.* I gave it a somewhat knee-jerk B+/A- when I was doing my 2006 in review post over a year ago. I do like Dreamgirls for all its issues – of which there are many. Watching it recently, a number of things that struck me about all the times I’d seen it before resurfaced, but some even more interesting things came to mind.

I still think of Dreamgirls in context of its supporting actress, although it’s not Jennifer Hudson I turn to but Anika Noni Rose. Perspective is such a great thing, and taking Noni’s recently strong work in For Colored Girls I put even more credence in her work as Lorrell Robinson. It’s more than her age defying ability to encapsulate the youth of Lorrell (who’s half her age) – character consistency is a beautiful thing, especially in a musical like Dreamgirls which, unlike something like Moulin Rouge, takes great pains to be a slice-of-life. When Noni Rose plays opposite Murphy on that tour bus (“You’re so crazy, Jimmy”) or breaks down, almost facetiously, in a dressing room (“Nobody’s breaking me and Jimmy up”) she manages to retain that strident character consistency that’s so necessary in the drama, and that seems more than occasionally lacking in her costars.

Still, I find that this time around I have a little more commendation for the cast itself. Although I am no champion of Hudson’s performance I find it easier to praise her collective delivery – even I applaud her enthusiasm more than her execution. No amount of jaunty editing could conceal her terrible dancing, which is no judgment on her acting ability but suggests an insufficiency in the casting area. It makes Effie’s resultant firing logical, because truthfully she is something of lead-weight if she’s not in the lead-spot, musically. She gets highest praises for “And I Am Telling You” which is odd, since her passion on “I Am Changing” is so much more piercing. There are, too, rare moments where her sincerity is palpable out-of-song. An ineffectual moment like removing an ingratiating M.C’s hand from Deena’s derriere is so well played which only underscores her promise – which has yet to be realised.

On that note of unrealised promise, I turn to Beyoncé who so easily emerges as the performer most likely to be condemned. Depending on my mood I’d say Beyoncé is either just as competent in her role as Hudson, or at times even better. Watching it recently, I feel more inclined to the latter. That glassy-eyed vacant stare which marks Knowles Deena works not only in accordance with her range, but takes on greater meaning when taking the narrative into perspective. It’s that sort of vague suggestion of being vacuous that makes her Deena such a good performer – as Curtis says, she’s nothing but what he puts into her. It works better in the film’s first half, and where Knowles triumphs decisively is in her performances. It’s a surprising thing, but she manages to eschew her natural stage charisma to retain those same characteristics of her characters which makes a number like the eponymous one work because you actually believe you are watching Deena Jones – even if her spoken lines all too often retain a clunky delivery.

It’s that sort of juxtaposition of the good and the bad which marks Dreamgirls. Condon is so adamant in trying to avoid the book-numbers of the musicals, he’s so determined to ensure that the musical numbers occur in a realistic format, the times when he decides to retain pieces like “Family” or “It’s All Over” become problematic. “Family” is especially awkward because it is a number so rich with an almost cringe-worthy amount of sentimentalism. Its placement immediately before the Dreamettes debut (that is not the least bit familial) is subverted by Condon’s occasional tunnel-vision. Which makes me consider Marshall and Nine. Despite the tongue-lashing it received, Nine consistency in its musical numbers makes it a more laudable piece – cinematically, especially.

Then, of course, there’s the male ensemble. Keith Robinson C.C seems less superfluous now, if only because he’s working doubly hard to ensure that the character’s blandness don’t show much. I’m neither fond of nor hateful towards Murphy’s Jimmy. It endures as a fine comedic turn from him, no worse than the few good comedic performances he’s delivered in pieces like Coming to America or Trading Places. It’s Jamie Foxx’s exasperating Curtis Jackson who’s the film’s true albatross. He’s consistently awkward in the role contributing an unremitting impediment to any organic establishment of plot-points.

It’s a bit unfortunate, but a succinct criticism of Dreamgirls could be made from just watching the first fifteen minutes. Condon infuses the narrative with an almost – almost– nauseating amount of colour pyrotechnics culminating in production design that’s strangely officious, even for a musical. What makes it officious is that, there are some moments where Condon’s visual additions add nothing to the story. “One Night Only” ends up coming off for good and for bad, since even when you get the point of the recreation of a real music video being done Condon gets these delusions of grandeur where it’s just a bit too much.

Today, I’d probably give Dreamgirls a solid B because it does remain as a generally enjoyable experience – and its editing is especially good, taking into account its story issues; issues which are part of the actual Broadway production as much as its cinematic counterpart. Krieger’s score never emerges as iconic as it’s endured in some circles (although the new song additions are well infused with the old ones). Dreamgirls might not be one for the ages, but I suppose it is good enough at the end of the day.

*I’m not certain why, but I feel a need to beg pardon for this lengthy discourse. This was meant to be a short look back at the film; it turned into an overly lengthy dissertation. Umm, apologies?

         

 Well here they are. The top six categories of the year and where my votes would have gone. Take a gander...Continued from here...

          

NOTE: Letters From Iwo Jima - I did not watch this out, so it's not on the list. An Inconvenient Truth...oversight that it's not here. I give a B+, Venus - I did not see this one. A big O'Toole fan...but [gasp] it's not in this country. And yes, it does suck here. The Lives of Others - did not see this either. Hence no inclusion here.  

              

Adriana Barraza in Babel

Cate Blanchett in Notes on A Scandal

Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada

Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine

Angelina Jolie in The Good Shepherd

Frances McDormand in Friends With Money

Anika Noni Rose in Dreamgirls

Sharon Stone in Bobby

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada

Emma Thompson in Stranger in Fiction

 

This was a tough category to break down. So many women gave good performances in middling films, some tried their best to elevate their trite material, but at the end of the day these ten women were at the top. McDormand’s nomination is somewhat representative of her, Joan Cusack and Catherine Keener who did superb work in the horrible Friends With Money. It was such a wasted effort. Three great actors wasted. At the end of the day Adriana Barraza came out on top for her illegal immigrant. Those few solitary moments in the desert and positively haunting, she plays her role well. Cate Blanchett and Sharon Stone come next. Cate’s Sheba is a pathetic woman who is consumed with narcissism but yet she is able to find the [fine] light within, and we don’t end up hating the character. I always feel bad for Sharon Stone. She gives probably my favourite performance of hers, and few saw it and the other just didn’t care. And it wasn’t as if the film was bad. Meryl Streep and Anika Noni Rose both give best in show performances, and both play for comedy albeit in different ways. They round out the top 5.                        

Oddly, this turned out to be the hardest category to compile. In addition to many of the films having a host of supporting actors present, there was also no clear winner. All the men were more or less equal. Finally, I decided on Paul Dano. An unlikely choice, no? Why didn’t anyone take notice of this performance? What is wrong with Hollywood? Those young untalented idiots from Transformers, Twilight, GI Joe get all the attention and Dano gets nothing. Even Michael Cera gets notice, so it’s not like it’s an aesthetic thing. I really can’t stress how much this performance impressed me. That scene where he finally speaks it’s just all really good. This was the best performance in the ensemble. Steve Carrell is close behind him, though. All I can say is genius. Jackie Earle Haley comes third for his haunting paedophile. Scary stuff. On a recent post I wrote that Brad Pitt is underrated. And he is…as an actor. We hear Brad Pitt and we think celebrity…we never think good actor. And he is. There are some scenes in Babel, aided by the aging makeup that are just chilling. And then there’s Gael Garcia in Babel. Pitt or he could have round up this category at the Oscars and I wouldn’t have minded. Are you going WTF at Martin Sheen. The scene leading up to Queenan’s death in The Departed are some of the most tense moments in recent cinema…Martin Sheen doesn’t have any big moments but he completely sells it as Queenan.

What a good year it was for women…even if all the precursors only noticed five of them. I find it incredibly hard to single out one of them as best...and I try my best to avoid ties. In the end it goes to Judi Dench with Annette Bening nipping at their heels. Both women have tough characters to break into and they do it great alacrity. I bemoan the fact that Annette couldn’t even get a friggin’ nomination. But I’m over that. Really, I am. But we all know it’s because the film was clunky. But yet Streep gets nominated for the equally clunky The Devil Wears Prada in a supporting role. It’s a harsh world. Moving on…Kate Winslet gets the bronze medal for Sarah. She’s always great. So no surprise. Then there’s Ms. Collette who is so wonderful in Little Miss Sunshine. Words cannot describe. Ms. Cruz is fifth, but that doesn’t lessen her performance. I hate Spanish, but she made me want to learn it. The film gets a bit silly sometimes…but she plays it well. You’re probably saying…Where is Helen Mirren!!!! She’s in sixth place. I was glad she won…after that unwarranted snub for Gosford Park. Those bitches. But I just wasn’t as enthralled by The Queen. Kirsten Dunst is somewhere in the pack…I wish someone would give her a proper role – she has so much potential. Beyonce is somewhere towards the bottom of the pack …but I’d just like to note that I thought her performance was fine…and she deserved her Golden Globe nod. And yeah, Freedomland kind of sucked…a lot…but Julianne was not bad.

My race comes down to Leo’s tortured gangster and Kinnear’s bathetic husband and father. Leo wins it fairly easily, but Kinnear wasn’t bad at all. Picking three to round out the top five is harder to do though. I’m going to go with Damon in The Good Shepherd, Eckhart in Thank You For Smoking and Gosling in Half Nelson. It surprises me that of these three only Gosling gained any traction and Damon got virtually no response from the awards. And Eckhart couldn’t even win the Globe. I cringed when Sacha Baron Cohen won that Golden Globe. Kinnear wasn’t nominated…but at least they could give it to Eckhart or even Ferrell. Sigh. I can't fault Whitaker's win though.

Once again The Departed has it. The others are just basically in a tie…okay, maybe Innaturu edges out in front for those scenes in Arabic…but they’re all pretty good. Todd Field was a runner up for Little Children…but I preferred the honesty of the direction in Notes on a Scandal even if it was the weaker of the two. But for some reason I think the two pieces complement each other.

The winner by a long shot was The Departed. Perfect combination of crime, foul language, tension, murder and even a little sex. I was screaming at my TV as Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson opened that envelope. Good times. It was the clear winner in my book and no other film came close that year. Babel was in second place. For some reason people don’t like this one. But I was a fan. It’s not one that you necessarily want to see again, what’s that phrase…once is enough. And Dreamgirls is third. This has suffered some extreme backlash and it is not a perfect film…but it is enjoyable and Condon’s direction though spasmodic was inspired in quite a few scenes. Little Miss Sunshine is close behind. I never really saw this winning Best Picture…but this was a good ride, and although I would have liked if Dreamgirls had replaced it…it deserved its nomination…and then we have Little Children…it’s an almost tie Bobby and Stranger Than Fiction…but Todd Field edges out. Thank You For Smoking is my favourite Reiteman. It’s a flawed film, but I found it entertaining. The other films in the top thirteen are all good.