DREAMGIRLS

DREAMGIRLS gives you the kind of musical that earns a big-screen setting. The songs and dance routines are spectacular, the dialogue and action build a well-structured plot, and the transition between conversation and music is seamless. Jennifer Hudson brings extraordinary power and heart to Effie, while Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx also give excellent performances.

The movie’s central question is simple: What will you do for fame and fortune? Its answer is strongly moral. Loyalty, family, and doing what is right eventually matter more than success. But the film includes 16 obscenities, two profanities, drug references, sexual promiscuity, and other mature material. Those elements are eventually rebuked, but the moral lesson takes time to take hold.

Teenagers and adults should find this an outstanding musical with a meaningful message. Parents should use discernment with younger children. For a mature family audience, DREAMGIRLS is worth the trip.

In Detroit, three singers known as the Dreamettes hope to make it in music. A wheeling-dealing car salesman hires them as backup singers for James “Thunder” Early, then sees a chance to reshape their careers.

As the women become the crossover pop group known as the Dreams, personal loyalties collide with ambition. Their manager must decide what he is willing to do for success, while the singers face the cost of chasing fame and fortune.

Four stars means DREAMGIRLS is an outstanding movie and one of the best adaptations of a Broadway musical for the big screen.

The film’s song and dance routines are spectacular, highlighted by extraordinary cinematography and sound. The songs, dialogue, and action build a very well-structured plot, and the transition between dialogue and music is seamless.

Jennifer Hudson’s singing is miraculous, and her performance as Effie brought tears to the audience’s eyes at the critics screening. Eddie Murphy does some of his best work as James “Thunder” Early. Jamie Foxx is excellent as a villain, and the audience strongly dislikes his character.

DREAMGIRLS presents a strong moral premise: people should not sell their souls for fame and fortune. It ultimately exalts loyalty, family, friendship, and doing the right thing, even when those choices cost people their careers. People stand up to a greedy promoter and give up success to help others.

The film’s moral vision is clear, but its spiritual vision is surprisingly thin. There are practically no references to God, church, or faith, even though the community depicted was known for those things. The movie rebukes sexual promiscuity, adultery, sexploitation, sex outside marriage, drug use, and illegal activity, but it does so primarily through a moral rather than explicitly Christian framework.

The film’s central warning aligns with a biblical concern about misplaced success, even though it does not ground that warning in faith: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

DREAMGIRLS is a polished, moving musical with spectacular performances and a strong warning about sacrificing your soul for success. Its mature content means parents should use discernment with younger children, but teenagers and adults can find much to admire. WORTH THE TRIP — TEENS AND ADULTS.