The Real Dreamgirls

A few weeks ago I read a DVD review in Entertainment Weekly of a movie I had never heard of called Sparkle. It was described as the "original" Dreamgirls and the review was very positive (an overal score of A-). I decided to check it out and put it at the top of my queue. However, I must not have been the only one to be impressed because it had a very long wait, and now, about six weeks later, it still has a long wait. I figured I was going to end up buying it anyways since one of the bonus features was the soundtrack CD, so after getting a coupon from Best Buy last Thursday, I stopped in after work on Friday and picked it up. Due to my busy weekend, I didn't get around to watching it until last night, but what a great movie it turned out to be. It's not a musical, but rather a drama with music (similar to Walk The Line, Ray, The Rose, Beaches, For The Boys, and Judy's A Star Is Born, all shows that routinely end up filed under Musicals even though no one spontaneously bursts into song while walking down the street, a more elaborate post on this is coming in the near future). The music though, written by Curtis Mayfield, is top notch and while I am a huge fan of the Dreamgirls score, is much more authentic. The movie was obviously low budget (cheap sets and lots of wide angles), but that added to the grittiness and realism of the movie. I really believed these characters were from the housing projects in Harlem, while Beyonce and company looked like they just stepped out of Ebony into downtown Detroit. While the script wasn't perfect (Sister's tragic descent is way too fast and the happy ending is somewhat unearned), it hit the right notes way more often than not, and I was extremely surprised during the opening credits by seeing Joel Schumacher as the sole credited writer. While he didn't direct, he obviously had a feel for a musical story, which begs the question, what the hell happened to fuck up the Phantom movie so badly? For everyone who thinks Dreamgirls the movie is the hippest thing since Chicago (a fantastic cinematic adaption that completely outclasses Dreamgirls), pick up the Dreamgirls Broadway recording and the Sparkle DVD. It'll make for a great night of entertainment.