by Lisa Hemsley

Created on: June 14, 2010   Last Updated: June 17, 2010

Effie, Lorelle and Deena are three teenage girls who dream of being singers, they have formed a group called the Dreamettes and are now entering a talent show. Unfortunately the girls don’t win the show but that is because Curtis, the car salesman who also dreams of making it in the industry, signs them as he thinks they will be his big break. The girls are thrilled to be going on the road with legendry singer

James ‘Thunder’ Early and soon they are making a name for themselves.

Things start to change for the girls when Curtis tells them they are going to go out on their own and not with James anymore and soon they are loving the fame and money which their new singing career is bringing them. The girls are also gaining confidence and boyfriends with Effie being with Curtis and Lorelle being with married James. Now that the girls have grown and matured, Curtis renames them the Dreamgirls and they are an instant success.

The group is in for a change though when they have to try and branch out into the pop charts and make a name for themselves in a mainly white market. Curtis upsets Effie by suggesting that Deena takes the lead, which has some drastic consequences for the Dreamgirls.

Will the Dreamgirls get their dream of a number one song and what will become of the group with all the changes which are taking place?

I really was looking forward to seeing this film, because it is one which I have wanted to see for some time as the trailers on the TV made it look interesting and full of good songs. I can honestly say that t was so much better than had expected it to be. The storyline was great and I did hear that it was based loosely on the lived of the Supremes and also a Broadway show. I think that the storyline and the race issues were handled extremely well and showed just how prejudice people were back in the 1960’s in America.

I had heard a lot about Beyonce young James brown, vocal wise.

The film was set in the 1960’s in Baltimore and I found the sets and scenery were all very well made and looked very authentic for this decade. I loved some of the costumes which they wore and at times found some of them very funny. The music also suited the film very well and for some reason I loved the up tempo songs and they always made me smile. I think that this film does definitely have a soundtrack which is worth buying on its own.

This film is supposed to be a musical but for the first 20 or so minutes you would not be able to tell this at all. There are a few times in the film when the characters sing to each other instead of talking but for me this does not fit into what I class as a musical and I think for it to be called one then they do need a lot more songs. There is a lot of songs when the characters are performing but I think I would have liked more of them when they were in their normal everyday lives.

As I said at the start of this review, this is a film only review so there are no bonus features to be mentioned. The running time of this film is 130 minutes and I found this to be a great length. The certificate is a 12A and I do agree with this as there are some scenes which don’t think young 12 year olds should be watching but sensible and mature ones would be quite alright to view them. This film can be found on DVD on sites such as Amazon and EBay for just a few pounds.

Overall, I am going to recommend this film as it has a great storyline, excellent acting and fantastic songs and vocals from all involved. 

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