Goddamnit, the Godfather is gone. Others have pointed out the irony of him dying the day that DREAMGIRLS - with lots to offer, but especially Eddie Murphy's turn as a Brown-esque singer - opened, so I shall not. And lots of places are linking to YouTube clips of his best work, such as "Please Please Please" and "Sex Machine/Soul Power" and of course, "I Feel Good." Love 'em all, but a special place in my heart belongs to his last #1 hit, "Living in America." It's 80s cheese, but Brown does something so much more by being his outsized, hard-working self.
Speaking of DREAMGIRLS, I'm curious about the critical backlash - okay, a day later, I can totally see the movie's flaws, which are really the musical's flaws, but if you didn't feel chills as Jennifer Hudson sang the hell out of "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" - or when she first showed up on screen singing lead on "Move It" - then you have no soul. It's a crowd-pleaser, it looks stunning, there are some serious laugh-out-loud moments (especially the American Bastard - er, Bandstand-ization of "Cadillac Car") and more to the point, director Bill Condon clearly understood how to translate a very stage-y musical into film's language. Don't look for deeper meaning or even carp how thin the roman-a-clef line is between fiction and the Supremes are, because that's missing the point.
For comparison's sake, here is original Broadway Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday singing "And I Am Telling You" at the 1982 Tony Awards. Interestingly enough, she wasn't the original choice (the show was written with Nell Carter in mind, but she did GIMME A BREAK! instead) and walked out of production twice because she didn't like the way Effie was originally written.
But this is Tony Scott we're talking about. I'd say that DREAMGIRLS took about 20 minutes to figure itself out, but it's clear from that review that Scott missed the point. Some of the over-the-top orchestral tunes were intended that way to show Curtis's wholesale dismantling of soul, which also echoed Broadway to some degree.
And I had forgotten that Condon had written the CHICAGO adaptation.
Posted by: ed | December 26, 2006 at 04:06 PM
In his review, it sounds like Scott has Jennifer Hudson confused with Frenchie Davis. The latter is the Idol who was notoriously dismissed. Hudson simply lost the competition.
Posted by: David J. Montgomery | December 26, 2006 at 05:36 PM
Frenchie Davis? I don't recall anyone by that name or anyone being notoriously dismissed that year. Hudson was voted off long before it came down to the last two.
Anyway, Sarah, I saw the film and the audience in East Hampton applauded after Hudson's "And I'm telling you" and that just doesn't happen there, I'm told. I thought it was a terrific movie even if the music left something to be desired. It simply didn't matter to me. Here is a musical that has a book that's better than the music. Unusual.
Posted by: Sandra Scoppettone | December 26, 2006 at 10:35 PM
As someone who always (sacrilige of sacriliges) saw "Not Going" as a poor man's "Rose's Turn" to begin with, I found Hudson's rendition less breakdown and more petulant hissy fit.
She hit the notes, but I never felt the soul.
For me the surprise of the movie was Beyonce. I never expected her to have the acting chops to be anything but... Beyonce. (Well, okay, Foxy Cleopatra was funny).
And all I could think of for most of the two hours was: poor Curtis, trying to stick it to the man and create something meaningful, surrounded by losers at every turn who just don't get it. ;)
And one final note: everyone else ages, why not C.C.?
Posted by: alina | December 27, 2006 at 09:14 AM
He'll be lying in state at the Apollo tomorrow (Thursday), 1-8 PM.
Posted by: Keith | December 27, 2006 at 02:25 PM
First loved Dreamgirls and damm can that Hudson girl sing.
Personally for me James Brown The Payback is a high mark some will never get near.
Posted by: Bruce | December 29, 2006 at 01:14 PM