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Dreamgirls
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 37
  3. Negative: 1 out of 37
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  1. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    100
    Dreamgirls is one of the best movie musicals in memory.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    100
    Hudson, taking over the role of Effie played on stage by Jennifer Holliday, is in charge of Dreamgirls from her opening scene, blowing away Grammy-winner Beyoncé Knowles, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx and anyone else who gets in her way.
  3. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    100
    The ovation that Hudson wins from the movie's audience is one of those miraculous moments when a performer's artistry breaks through the screen and makes you feel part of a live audience. I haven't experienced anything like it since Barbra Streisand sang "My Man" at the end of her astonishing debut in Funny Girl.
  4. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    100
    The movie belongs to Hudson as the proud, self-destructive Effie. When she's center stage, Dreamgirls transports you to movie musical heaven.
  5. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    100
    The sigh you will hear across the country in the next few weeks is the sound of a gratified audience: a great movie musical has been made at last.
  6. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    91
    Though it seems long and its pace occasionally lags, it certainly struck me as a well-mounted, gloriously eye-filling and often exhilarating entertainment that brings back some of the delicious excitement of the great movie musicals.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    Dreamgirls is the entire musical package, a triumph of old school on-screen glamour, and we wouldn't want it any other way.
  8. Slate
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    90
    For all its flaws, Dreamgirls is what this holiday season needs. It's a big, fat, luscious movie in which no one is tortured, murdered, or mutilated (honestly, how many recent films can you say that about?).
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: David Rooney
    90
    Finally. After "The Phantom of the Opera," "Rent" and "The Producers" botched the transfer from stage to screen, Dreamgirls gets it right. Bill Condon's adaptation of the 1981 show about a Motown trio's climb to crossover stardom pulls off the fundamental double-act those three musical pics all missed: It stays true to the source material while standing on its own as a fully reimagined movie.
  10. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Albert Williams
    90
    Elegant, unabashedly theatrical, and packed with lush concert scenes and period-perfect costumes.
  11. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Steve Davis
    89
    Even when it feels packaged like a holiday entertainment that aims to please, watching Dreamgirls is like being on cloud nine.
  12. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    88
    This baby dazzles like nothing else anywhere.
  13. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    88
    Bill Condon's screen adaptation of the 1981 Broadway sensation is, if possible, as dazzling and energizing as its source.
  14. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    88
    Murphy is a revelation as James, and what American Idol castoff Hudson lacks in technical acting craft she makes up for in raw energy and a voice that could melt the rhinestones off a beauty queen. To complain that Beyonce pales by comparison is to fault her for nailing the essence of the infinitely malleable Deena.
  15. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    88
    Dreamgirls is good and at times it touches greatness.
  16. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Stephen Saito
    88
    The reason to see Dreamgirls is what hasn't been advertised - a film that in spite of its shiny veneer actually hits all the high notes through its underlying rawness.
  17. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Dreamgirls is the rare movie musical with real rapture in it.
  18. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    The film is like a lot like Effie: It occasionally vexes or disappoints, but -- I am telling you -- it dazzles.
  19. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    80
    If there is a disappointment, it is this: The anticipation may have exceeded the realization. It's a damn good commercial movie, but it is not the film that will revive the musical or win over the world.
  20. Empire
    Reviewed by: Angie Errigo
    80
    Ardent, accomplished, overwhelmingly emotional, with something to say and a dream cast saying it in song. Bravo.
  21. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    Condon grasps what has eluded most of his contemporaries: Anyone can give us the old razzle-dazzle, but what makes a movie musical soar is nothing more or less than the quiet exhilaration of two individuals on the screen, enraptured by song.
  22. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss/Richard Schickel
    80
    It's great to see a movie musical with a smart sense of the genre. All Dreamgirls lacks is the amazing energy and passion of the original.
  23. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    Dreamgirls is performed, shot, edited and packaged like a coming-attractions trailer for itself. Ordinarily that would be enough to sink a film straight off, unless you're a fan of "Moulin Rouge." But this one's a good time.
  24. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    75
    This glitzy, infectious and unusually heartfelt musical doesn't always hang together as a satisfying narrative -- too many characters compete for too little screen time -- but its pleasures are numerous enough to override its flaws.
  25. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Dreamgirls may be good enough to win the Oscar for Best Picture - great costumes, sets and choreography help - but despite stellar work by erstwhile "American Idol" contestant Hudson and Murphy, it's far from a great picture.
  26. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Indeed, without Hudson's magic, without that extra feeling that comes from seeing the launch of something extraordinary, Dreamgirls might have been a break-even affair. The film has strong roles, good actors and a compelling story that takes place over the course of 10 or 15 years. But it has, with only a couple of exceptions, a pedestrian score that sounds like generic show-music schlock and lyrics that are not distinctive.
  27. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    75
    Jennifer Hudson is the heart and soul of Dreamgirls. When she's on the screen, the movie shines. When she's not, the whole endeavor suffers.
  28. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    75
    The film soars in the right places, especially when powerful newcomer Jennifer Hudson sings, and the charismatic supporting cast keeps it chugging forward.
  29. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    75
    Without Hudson, Dreamgirls would be a whole lot less exciting. Knowles, the ostensible star, is rather bland, and Foxx, surprisingly, seems miscast. Murphy is wonderful, but that should be no surprise.
  30. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    70
    She's (Jennifer Hudson) the best part of the show by far, but the writer-director Bill Condon, who wrote the screenplay for "Chicago" four years ago, has done the original "Dreamgirls" proud without solving its dramatic problems.
    All this critic's reviews
  31. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    60
    The problem with "Dreamgirls" -- and it is not a small one -- lies in those songs, which are not just musically and lyrically pedestrian, but historically and idiomatically disastrous.
  32. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    It's taken Dreamgirls 25 years and several false starts to get to the screen, so it's a shame to see what a rush job it feels like.
  33. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
    50
    Dreamgirls is a better musical than "Chicago" or "Rent," but then, that isn't really saying much.
  34. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    50
    I know I'm going to bring down the room by saying I think it's just okay. Well, Jennifer Hudson is more than okay.
  35. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    50
    Even with Hudson's triumphant arrival and an overall fizzy mood of singing, dancing, pop nostalgia and camp, Dreamgirls is an uneven crowd pleaser.
  36. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    40
    There's so little love to be found in Dreamgirls. It's a product that promises magic, and yet gives us nothing to live on.
  37. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    33
    It's the ultimate pop-culture sacrilege: a movie about soul music that has no soul.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 208 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 87 out of 122
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 122
  3. Negative: 18 out of 122
  1. AwesomeReviewer
    8
    “Dreamgirls,” is a musical drama about three young ladies and their journey to stardom. I have to say this is a fantastic film, it has everything from amazing music to beautiful visuals to heart. The movie is about going for your dreams and the sacrifices one has to make to achieve those dreams. And what happens when the rug is pulled from right beneath you. The story starts off light hearted and slowly weaves into the more dramatic aspects. From start to finish we as the audience feel and experience everything the characters feel. It’s as if we are following them through this journey every step of the way. However, the movie cuts abruptly in certain scenes and it kind of weakens the overall impact. Certain characters are paid less attention to and when something happens to them we are supposed to care. The acting in this movie is great, every actor portrayed their character well. I just wish some some of them were more fleshed out and given proper attention to, for instance, Eddie Murphy’s character. He does a good job, but he something happens to him in the film and I couldn’t bring myself to care. However, Jennifer Hudson steals every scene she is in. She plays Effie, the lead singer of the group, but is quickly replaced by her friend Deena, played by Beyonce. She is pretty much a diva in the movie. She wants all of the spot light on her and refuses to see the bigger picture for the group. Years pass and she finally realizes what she had. Hudson played the character so well, giving her power and she handled the emotional scenes well. In my opinion the star of the film was Effie as she was the real heart of the film. And instead I think Hudson should have been nominated for a lead actor award instead of a supporting one. The songs are probably the most important part of any musical. The songs are all great and sung to perfection by the cast. “Dreamgirls,” the title song is beautifully song and harmonized. It feels like a song that only can be sung by angels. “Patients” and “One Night Only”(Effie version) are both great songs that made me really emotional. My favorite number are the ones at the end of Act 1, “It’s Over” and “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” both of which are very dramatic and show the shift in the tone of the film. Overall I think “Dreamgirls” is a fantastic musical and should have been nominated for Best Picture. It hit all the right notes. The songs are great and the acting is good. The story could have been tweaked a bit more to make it flow better. I give it a high 4/5, good acting, memorable and amazingly well sung songs, with strong characters, but some minor problems in the whole execution. “Muy Caliente”… Full Review »
  2. liamconnor
    9
    this is an amazing musical. yes it has its problems, but it has its amazingness. Jennifer Hudson's performance is the best out of the lot. she sang her best and acted pretty well. eddie murphy did well, a unique and different role for him, to me jamie foxx and beyonce were the least satisfactory in the film. he could have really been the guy u want to punch, but he wasnt, beyonce was. her want to have the spotlight shone when she sang listen, it was her try at trying to take the spotlight from jennifer. you can't beyonce, she out sand and acted you, deal with it. great musical, good movie.… Full Review »
  3. myselfandI
    2
    The worst biopic I've ever seen. Actually, I only liked the costumes. They said it tries to tell the Supremes' story!!!! I don';t think so. The music is NOT motown sound at all, it's Beyonce's sound instead; and there are too many stupid songs which are good and with good voices. But it is not motown, and people who really like 60's and soul music know that. Was it really so expensive to pay Motown for royalties?… Full Review »
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