.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

The It's easy to split the world into two separate classes of people. Too easy in fact for someone like myself to simply use it to further a process in a film review.

So here goes.

There are two types of people on this earth. There are people who enjoy musicals and those that would rather drink paint with a PineSol chaser. Don't believe me? Put yourself amongst a group of people and ask them what they thought of Moulin Rouge. Then ask about Chicago. I won't suggest mentioning Rent as I found that particular entry of the new millennium to be far inferior to the first two and not then worthy of comparison. Odds are you'll be met with enough responses from both sides of the fence to further my theory.

Enter Dreamgirls, the new musical featuring such talent as Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover and Eddy Murphy. The film, based on the Broadway production of the same name, tells the story that isn't of Diana Ross and the Supremes and follows the rise of three starlets as they find fame, some fortune and all the egomaniacal mess that comes with wanting to be the one in the spotlight.

Jennifer Hudson plays Effie White, the more talented of the three girls who early in the group's successes decides to leave the trio in hopes of pursuing her own solo career. That leaves Deena Jones (Knowles) to steal the show and she does a more than admirable job with the support of her lover/manager Curtis Taylor (Foxx).

But with all the success that Jones befalls, Effie finds hard luck and abandons her singing career to focus on the raising of her bastard daughter, Magic. If time is intended to heal all wounds, Effie needs almost a decade and help from her brother C.C. (Keith Robinson) in order to again find success in the spotlight.

Dreamgirls is a movie of incredible raw power. The songs - some from the Broadway play and some new - are raw and toe tapping. They are performed with incredible vigor and exuberance by Knowles and Hudson in a believable belting that was so lacking in the performances of Rent. The acting is also top notch, lead by newcomer Hudson of American Idol fame but also, and surprisingly by Murphy as soul singer James 'Thunder' Early. In Murphy's first turn at pure drama (it's true - look at his filmography and you will find one comedy attempt after another since he debuted in 48 Hours in 1982), he turns in an award winning performance as a womanizing singer who falls on hard times himself as age and drug abuse takes its toll.

But Dreamgirls offers more than just the songs and a group of stars that are all recognizable to tabloid flipping checkout patrons. The story as developed by Bill Condon from Tom Eyen's book is equally engrossing and we feel the pain of Effie as she falls into almost poverty and the successes and struggles of Deena as she tries to break free from the overbearing Taylor.

Put all these three parts together and you have one of the more interesting, fun and enjoyable films of the year that is already garnishing enough nomination attention to ignore. And for a time of year where films of such heavy handedness are trotted out one after another in an attempt to pry the dollars from our money clips in an attempt to have reference points once all the red carpet galas start in early January, Dreamgirls offers a light, exciting and energetic entry that you can enjoy with friends and family.

Well, those friends and family that fall into the class of people that enjoy such sing-a-long fare.