Welcome to Queerty’s latest entry in our series, Queerantined: Daily Dose. Every weekday as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has us under quarantine, we’ll release a suggested bit of gloriously queer entertainment designed to keep you from getting stir crazy in the house. Each weekend, we will also suggest a binge-able title to keep you extra engaged.
The Frothy: Dreamgirls
As this dang quarantine drags on, we need some joy and levity. Hence our choice of a comfort food movie, Dreamgirls. Director Bill Condon’s excellent adaptation of the classic stage play fictionalizes the story of the classic Motown group The Supremes into a story of showbiz rivalry and undying friendship. The film follows a girl group called The Dreams as they vie for megastardom. Comprised of three women–Deena, Laurel and Effie (Beyonce Knowles, Anika Noni Rose and Jennifer Hudson, respectively)–the dreams fight their way up the showbiz ladder, encountering the ambitious talent agent Curtis (Jamie Foxx). Curtis promises the girls stardom, but at a price: The Dreams must replace the overweight Effie with the more beautiful Deena as lead singer.
Dreamgirls borrows from traditional showbiz movies as much as from the real-life story of The Supremes. As such, it has glitz and glamour to spare. Knowles proves herself an effective actress in a role she seems born to play, though the real fire comes from Eddie Murphy as a self-destructive R&B star, and from Hudson’s Oscar-winning turn as Effie. Her rendition of the iconic “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” ranks as one of the most thundering, Earth-shattering numbers in movie musical history, worthy of mention alongside the work of Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Liza Minnelli, Gene Kelly or Debbie Reynolds. That alone is worth the price of a rental. That it’s a thoroughly entertaining movie surrounds it also reinforces that Dreamgirls is irresistible fun.
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