Slog - Comments on Dreamgirls is Turning Me into a Total Faggot http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin So if you haven't heard already, the film version of the smash Broadway musical Dreamgirls is due on screens this Christmas. I never saw the show, haven't heard the soundtrack, don't like musicals, and am actively repelled by one of the film's stars (that means you, Jamie Foxx.) Nevertheless, I am nearly jumping up and down with excitement to see the film, and it's entirely the result of the avalanche of hype being dumped on Jennifer Hudson, the former American Idol contestant who reportedly steals the film, leaving the cast's high-wattage star power—Foxx, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy—sputtering in the dust. For... Copyright 2008 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:28:46 -0800 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 23:00:43 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mike in MO I remember thinking, "I'd bang her" when she was on AI. I will probably never see that movie though. I'd rather be waterboarded than sit through a musical with Eddie Murphy in it.

]]> Mike in MO http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522479 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522479 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:48:42 -0800 Comment by Matthew Beyonce is "skinny"? No way man, no way. She's got the sweetest bum cakes imaginable, and curves to match.

]]> Matthew http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522560 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522560 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:02:45 -0800 Comment by David Schmader Actually, Beyonce lost a bit of weight for "Dreamgirls," if what she said on Oprah is true.

]]> David Schmader http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522696 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522696 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:22:23 -0800 Comment by Andrew David,

You have to listen to the best song from the musical: And I’m telling you. I just listened to it the other night and damn I get chills every time I hear that song – it’s flat out, sing along with a hair brush in front of your mirror-rad. And I’ve heard the Dreamgirls film version is the best ever!

]]> Andrew http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522839 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522839 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:30:10 -0800 Comment by riz Andrew's right. as anybody who's watched any showtime at the apollo knows there's only two ways to sing 'and i'm telling you', magnificently or not at all. it's a talent show staple and has been for the better part of almost 40 years.it's a requirement that every true diva has to sing that song and patti's version of 'somewhere over the rainbow' in order to truly own the pearls. i once saw a man slay a showtime audience singing it entirely falsetto a la sylvester.
it completely defined jennifer holiday's entire career and it surely will now for jennifer hudson.
'mike in mo'.. it may help you to know that the character eddie plays in the movie is not going to be likable. from the trailer it looks as if his performance mode is the same as james brown paraody he did years ago on saturday night live.

]]> riz http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522933 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522933 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:04:26 -0800 Comment by David Schmader Riz and Andrew: I watched footage on YouTube of Jennifer Holiday singing the song at the '82 Tony Awards, and yeah, amazing.

And from a dramatic standpoint, it's fucking genius: After being told she's been booted from the group, Effie delivers a song that makes it perfectly clear she's the most awesome performer in the world—which still fails to get her back into the group. Brilliant. Can't wait to see it with Jennifer Hudson and shot all cinema-like...

]]> David Schmader http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522938 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522938 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:12:59 -0800 Comment by Steve Wiecking David: A friend forwarded me your slog comments. Since I'm already a total faggot, and have actually seen the film, let me clear something up--it's all hype. Bland, overlong film from an overrated musical that should nonetheless make many drag queens very, very happy over the holidays. Hudson has a great voice, and she hits all the notes, and she's charming, but she cannot act. I felt the same way about her as I did about that other fat Idol reject, Frenchie Davis, who tried her had at Effie at the 5th Avenue a while back. When Hudson sings, she's impressively working her way through a stirring song called "And I'm Tellling You I'm Not Going." When Holliday sang, as is almost terrifyingly evident on the Tonys clip, SHE IS TELLING YOU SHE'S NOT GOING. Hudson? She's going, alright, and she's bummed about it, but she's glad someone gave her a big number. I'm not a Beyonce fan--and speaking of no acting ability...--but girlfriend outperforms Hudson with an "And-I'm-Telling-You-I-Made-the-Producers-Give-Me-A-Big-New-Song" solo sung at Jamie Foxx (who, yes, is fucking dreadful). Just thought I'd get that off my chest. The hype is driving me insane in the opposite way.

]]> Steve Wiecking http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522951 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c522951 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:30:50 -0800 Comment by David Schmader Steve: Dang. I was afraid the pre-hype might provide me with my most entertaining Dreamgirls related experience, and your post makes me wonder if that fear was justified.

And yet my fascination with the hype remains, almost more so now: Do you think the song is so monolithically great that anyone who sang/filmed it would be showered with praise? Or are media folk just happy to have something worth liking in the holiday movie rush and are overstating their enthusiasm?

]]> David Schmader http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523013 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523013 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:49:20 -0800 Comment by Andrew David,

I just watched the same Jennifer Holliday clip on YouTube. Totally electric -the audience looks like they're going to jump out of their seats. It's the closest an atheist can get to religious ecstasy.

It deserves a revered Slog post of its own.

Steve Wiecking,

Saucer of milk to # 7, meow -kitty's got claws.

]]> Andrew http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523271 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523271 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:12:27 -0800 Comment by Steve Wiecking Andrew: Damn right.
David: Yes, anyone who sings that song and doesn't completely choke is going to get raves from people desperate to experience greatness. It's the same thing that happens when some diva tries her hand at "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy. People always want to believe they've really seen something even if they haven't. Troll through You Tube some more and you'll find faggots praising Tamyra Gray's robotic one minute version of "And I'm Telling You..." on American Idol. (Can we stop American Idol? Please?) At least Hudson doesn't mimic Holliday and chooses to do the song her own way--it's just not the most dramatically compelling way, however vocally adept. And it's shot in the movie as though she were performing "I'm the Greatest Star" from Funny Girl, which is an unfortunate homage (I know we have our Barbra differences, Dave, but when a 26-year-old Streisand sang, she WAS the greatest star, let's admit it). At least Hudson is very likable in the movie. Jamie Foxx--oh, god. The man is apparently convinced he doesn't need to do anything anymore to convey emotion because he's a prestige actor now. And Eddie Murphy? He's great. Should be in it more. Although I kept waiting for him to sing about how hot it was in the hot tub.

]]> Steve Wiecking http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523307 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523307 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:50:49 -0800 Comment by Mark Mitchell I'm stuck on the couch recovering from pneumonia, desperate for entertainment, and with all sincerity, this is what I love to see. Art fags seriously atremble over a musical. And a girl group musical at that. Life is good.

]]> Mark Mitchell http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523349 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523349 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:40:24 -0800 Comment by Mark Mitchell I'm stuck on the couch recovering from pneumonia, desperate for entertainment, and with all sincerity, this is what I love to see. Art fags seriously atremble over a musical. And a girl group musical at that. Life is good.

]]> Mark Mitchell http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523350 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523350 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:40:29 -0800 Comment by David Schmader Dear Mark: Glad to help, and I hope you have a speedy recovery. xo Dave

]]> David Schmader http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523364 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c523364 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 16:55:13 -0800 Comment by A LA CREME GIRLZ DS: When "Dreamgirls" was shown here at an SIFF invitational a few weeks ago, I attended with a "Dreamgirls" queer who had to explain everything to me about the show and why it matters. I had never heard of Jennifer Hudson, but by the time she finished singing "And I'm Telling You...", I was awash, a tub of wet laundry. Thank God for gay Bill Condon ("Chicago" - "Gods & Monsters") who pulled it all together. Unless you're a musically-challenged caged woman from Kazakhstan, you will love "Dreamgirls," and stop listening right now to anyone infecting you with catty predisposition.

]]> A LA CREME GIRLZ http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c524380 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/dreamgirls_is_turnin#c524380 Arts Fri, 01 Dec 2006 23:00:43 -0800