Day 88 - 3/29/09 - Movie #85
BEFORE: Forgot about this one during "Dark Side of Fame" week - but to be fair, I was mostly watching films about REAL famous people, like Bobby Darin and Chuck Barris. But I guess this movie is a fictionalized story of the Supremes - so I guess it sort of qualifies.
THE PLOT: Based on the Broadway musical, a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960's.
AFTER: I'm not a big fan of Beyonce (or Diana Ross, for that matter), but I do watch the "American Idol", so though I'm not squarely in this film's target audience, I sort of see where it's coming from. Idol is all about singers having the "big moment", when the music swells, and the singer BELTS, and this film is full of those moments. For Jennifer Hudson, anyway. There's no question she's got pipes, but did she deserve an Oscar? I guess the film's dramatic moments were intertwined with the song crescendos, so it's impossible to separate the two. But Eddie Murphy sang great and had his moments, so where's his Oscar? What's a guy gotta do to break out of the comedy box? And then Alan Arkin won the Oscar for a performance in a comedy - Ouch!
This is a powerful film, no question - I know because it reached out of the TV and grabbed me and said "Look how powerful I am!" But it's like using a sledgehammer to drive in a small nail - a lot of power-singing, tense moments, and personal betrayals. Is it overkill? Again, I'm not as comfortable rating this as I would be giving my opinion on a sci-fi film or a spoof comedy -
RATING: I can see how some people would give this an 8 or 9, but for me personally, my rating is 5 out of 10 gold records.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I thought it was fab for what it was: your basic big, glitzy Hollywood musical. Lean on the profundity, big on the showbiz. A good, fun time.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a case study on the difference between Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories. Your description could have fit either Jennifer Hudson or Beyonce. There really aren't any big "acty" sort of roles in this film. In this movie, you're being cast for your ability to sing and wear clothes.
"Best Actor" is an ACTING award. You ain't gonna win Best Actor for singing and wearing clothes. But you win Best Supporting Actor for the story of how you came to be nominated. Voters want to see a great personal story:
"This actor has paid their dues for years and it's a shame that they've never won an Oscar yet."
"We like this actor a lot. He just never really does the sort of high-profile performances in the sort of high-profile movies that make it onto the Oscar radar."
"He's a fresh-faced newcomer with a lot of verve who hasn't been around long enough to become jaded about this business yet'"
"She was plucked from a cruise ship and propelled to the finals of 'American Idol', booted off the show in a shocking and unfair turn. She was _born_ to play Effie in 'Dreamgirls'! And if she were to win, wouldn't it be a terrific emotional Hollywood moment?"
"Oh, man! What if we _actually_ gave Cher an Oscar?!?"