Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical drama film written and directed by Bill Condon and produced by Laurence Mark. Adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical, Dreamgirls is a film à clef, a work of fiction taking strong inspiration from the history of the Motown record label and its superstar act the Supremes. The story follows the history and evolution of American R&B music during the 1960s and 1970s through the eyes of a Detroit girl group known as the Dreams and their manipulative record executive.
The film adaptation features an ensemble cast, starring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, and Eddie Murphy with Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, and Jennifer Hudson in supporting roles. In addition to the original compositions by composer Henry Krieger and lyricist Tom Eyen, four new songs, composed by Krieger with various lyricists, were added for the film. The film marks the acting debut of Hudson, a former American Idol contestant.
Dreamgirls debuted in four special road show engagements starting on December 15, 2006, by Roadshow Engagement and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 25. With a production budget of $80 million, Dreamgirls is one of the most expensive films to feature a predominant African-American starring cast in American film history. The film received positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised Condon's direction, the soundtrack, costume and production design, and performances of the cast, in particular Hudson and Murphy, and grossed $155.4 million worldwide. At the 79th Academy Awards, the film received a leading eight nominations, winning Best Supporting Actress (for Hudson), and Best Sound Mixing. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, it won three awards, including for the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Plot
In 1962 Detroit, car salesman Curtis Taylor Jr. meets a Black girl group called "The Dreamettes", consisting of lead singer Effie White and backup singers Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson, at an R&B amateur talent show at the Detroit Theatre. Presenting himself as their new manager, he hires them as backup singers for Chitlin' Circuit R&B star Jimmy "Thunder" Early. He soon starts his own record label, Rainbow Records, out of his Cadillac dealership, appointing Effie's brother C.C. as head songwriter. When their first single "Cadillac Car" fails after white pop group "Dave and the Sweethearts" releases a cover version, Curtis, C.C., and their producer Wayne turn to payola to make "Jimmy Early & The Dreamettes" mainstream pop stars, beginning with their follow-up single "Steppin' to the Bad Side". Offstage, Effie falls in love with Curtis while the married Jimmy has an affair with Lorrell.
Jimmy's manager, Marty Madison, grows weary of Curtis' plans to make his client more pop-friendly and walks out. When Jimmy fails to connect with an all-white Miami Beach supper club audience, Curtis sends him out on the road alone, keeping The Dreamettes (whom he renames "The Dreams") behind to headline in his place. Feeling that Effie's plus size figure and distinctive, soulful voice will not attract white audiences, he appoints the slimmer, more conventionally attractive Deena as the new lead singer, as Deena's voice, although more basic and generic, is more marketable.
Aided by new songs and a new image, Curtis and C.C. transform The Dreams into a top-selling mainstream pop group. By 1965, however, Effie begins acting out, particularly when Curtis' affections also turn towards Deena. After Effie storms off during a CBS performance, Curtis decides to replace her with his secretary Michelle Morris, beginning with their 1966 New Year's Eve debut in Las Vegas as "Deena Jones & the Dreams". Effie learns she is pregnant with his child, but is fired before she can tell him. Though Effie defiantly and desperately appeals to Curtis, he, C.C., and The Dreams abandon her, forging ahead to stardom.
By 1973, Effie has become an impoverished single mother living on welfare in Detroit with her daughter Magic. To restart her music career, she appoints Marty as her manager and begins performing at a local nightclub. Meanwhile, Deena Jones & the Dreams have become superstars and Rainbow, now headquartered in Los Angeles, has become the biggest pop label in the nation. Curtis, now Deena's husband, pitches a film about Cleopatra to feature her in the title role. However, Deena clandestinely hopes the film will never be greenlit, wanting to pursue other acting gigs.
By 1974, Jimmy has become a drug addict due to Curtis's preoccupation with Deena and his rejection of Jimmy's politically charged charity single "Patience" with C.C. and Lorrell. During Rainbow's tenth anniversary special, Jimmy abandons his somber act to do an impromptu rap, exciting the audience, until he goes too far and drops his pants. Embarrassed, Curtis promptly drops him from the label and Lorrell ends their affair. C.C., who feels Curtis is undermining his songs' artistic merit by making them into disco music, quits the label. Jimmy dies from a heroin overdose, devastating Lorrell, who is barred from his funeral.
Disillusioned by Curtis' cold reaction to Jimmy's death, C.C. reconciles with Effie in Detroit, producing her debut single, "One Night Only". Just as it begins gaining local radio play, Curtis uses payola to promote The Dreams' disco version instead. By 1975, Deena, frustrated by Curtis's control of her career, discovers his schemes and contacts Effie, who arrives in Los Angeles with C.C., Marty, and a lawyer. Deena and Effie reconcile, with Effie telling her that Curtis is Magic's father. He begrudgingly agrees to nationally distribute Effie's version of "One Night Only" to avoid being reported to the FBI. Inspired by Effie's victory and finally seeing Curtis for who he is, Deena leaves him, vowing to start over. The Dreams give a farewell performance at the Detroit Theater, inviting Effie onstage to sing lead for the final song. Towards the end, Curtis approaches the front row, encounters Magic, and realizes she is his daughter.
Cast
Jamie Foxx as Curtis Taylor Jr.; based upon Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., Curtis is a slick Cadillac dealer-turned-record executive who founds the Rainbow Records label and shows ruthless ambition in his quest to make his black artists household names with white audiences. At first romantically involved with Effie, Curtis takes a professional and personal interest in Deena after appointing her lead singer of the Dreams in Effie's place. Beyoncé Knowles as Deena Jones; based upon Motown star and lead Supremes member Diana Ross, Deena is a very shy young woman who becomes a star after Curtis makes her lead singer of the Dreams. This, as well as her romantic involvement and later marriage to Curtis, draw Effie's ire, though Deena realizes over time she is nothing more than a puppet for her controlling husband and eventually leaves him. Eddie Murphy as James (Jimmy) "Thunder" Early; inspired by R&B/soul singers such as James Brown, Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, is a raucous performer on the Rainbow label engaged in an adulterous affair with Dreams member Lorrell. Curtis attempts to repackage Early as a pop-friendly balladeer. Jimmy's stardom fades as the Dreams' stardom rises, and as a result – he falls into depression (which he copes with through drug abuse). Danny Glover as Marty Madison, Jimmy's original manager before Curtis steps into the picture; Marty serves as both counsel and confidant to Jimmy, and later to Effie as well. Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell Robinson; inspired by Supremes member Mary Wilson, is a good-natured background singer with the Dreams who falls deeply in love with the married Jimmy Early and becomes his mistress. Keith Robinson as Clarence Conrad (C.C.) White; inspired by Motown vice president, artist, producer, and songwriter Smokey Robinson, (audio interview) Effie's soft-spoken younger brother, a singer-songwriter, serves as the main songsmith for first the Dreams and later the entire Rainbow roster. Jennifer Hudson as Effie White; inspired by Supremes member Florence Ballard, Effie is a talented yet temperamental singer who suffers when Curtis, the man she loves, replaces her as lead singer of the Dreams and his love interest, and later drops her altogether. With the help of Jimmy's old manager Marty, Effie begins to resurrect her career a decade later, while raising Magic, her daughter with Curtis. Sharon Leal as Michelle Morris; based upon three Supremes members Cindy Birdsong, Lynda Laurence, and Susaye Greene, Curtis' secretary who replaces Effie in the Dreams and begins dating C.C. Hinton Battle as Wayne, a salesman at Curtis' Cadillac dealership who becomes Rainbow's first record producer and Curtis' henchman. Mariah I. Wilson as Magic White, Effie's daughter Yvette Cason as May, Deena's mother Ken Page (in his final film role) as Max Washington Michael-Leon Wooley as Tiny Joe Dixon Loretta Devine as Jazz Singer. Devine originated the role of Lorrell in the 1981 stage production. John Lithgow as Jerry Harris, a film producer looking to cast Deena John Krasinski as Sam Walsh, Jerry Harris' screenwriter/film director Esther Scott as Aunt Ethel, Curtis' aunt Bobby Slayton as Miami Comic Dawnn Lewis as Melba Early, James' wife Jaleel White as Talent Booker at the Detroit Theatre talent show Fatima Robinson (the film's choreographer) as a member of the Stepp Sisters Rory O'Malley as Dave Laura Bell Bundy as Sweetheart Cleo King as Janice Eddie Mekka as Club Manager Robert Cicchini as Nicky Cassaro Robert Curtis Brown as Technical Director Gregg Berger as Chicago Deejay Paul Kirby as Promo Film Narrator (voice) Yvette Nicole Brown as Curtis' Secretary
Musical numbers Act I "I'm Lookin' for Something" – The Step Sisters "Goin Downtown" – Little Albert & the Tru-Tones "Takin the Long Way Home" – Tiny Joe Dixon "Move" – Dreamettes "Fake Your Way to the Top" – James "Thunder" Early & The Dreamettes "Cadillac Car" – James Thunder Early & The Dreamettes "Cadillac Car (Reprise)" – Dave & The Sweethearts "Steppin to the Bad Side" – Curtis Taylor Jr., Wayne, C.C. White, Jimmy Early & The Dreamettes and Chorus "Love You I Do" – Effie White "I Want You Baby" – Jimmy Early & The Dreamettes "Family" – C.C. White, Effie White, Curtis Taylor Jr., Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson "Dreamgirls" – The Dreams "Heavy" – The Dreams "It's All Over" – Effie White, Deena Jones, Curtis Taylor Jr., C.C. White, Lorrell Robinson, and Michelle Morris "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" – Effie White "Love Love Me Baby" - Deena Jones & The Dreams Act II "I'm Somebody" – Deena Jones & the Dreams "When I First Saw You" – Curtis Taylor Jr. "Patience" – Jimmy Early, Lorrell Robinson, C.C. White, and Chorus "I Am Changing" – Effie White "Perfect World" – The Campbell Connection "I Meant You No Harm/Jimmy's Rap" – Jimmy Early "Lorrell Loves Jimmy" – Lorrell Robinson "Family (Reprise)" – Deena Jones & the Dreams "Jimmy Don't Crawl" – Jimmy Early (Director's Cut only) "Step on Over" – Deena Jones & the Dreams "I Miss You Old Friend" – Jazz Singer (Loretta Devine) "Effie, Sing My Song" – C.C. White and Effie White (Director's Cut only) "One Night Only" – Effie White "One Night Only (Disco)" – Deena Jones & the Dreams "Listen" – Deena Jones "Effie White's Gonna Win" - Effie White "Hard to Say Goodbye" – Deena Jones & the Dreams "Dreamgirls (Finale)" – The Dreams
Production
Pre-production