Sunday, February 11, 2007
Dreamgirls
there are spoilers, you have been warned.
First of all, what people have been saying is totally true, Jennifer Hudson is amazing. I was all teary eyed listening to her sing, and that never happens to me. (granted I am kind of sick and emotional, but still).
Second of all, if you are considering going to see this movie, go see it now while it is still in the theater. The movie is a spectacle, that is what makes it so good. The singing, the colors, the costumes, I think to be really enjoyed it has to be in the dark and kind of overwhelming.
Third of all, no one is talking about this, but I thought Jamie Foxx was also fantastic. God, he was just so sleazy, it still makes me want to shudder.
Fourth of all, the music. So they had songs in which they were performing and then songs in which they were supposed to just kind of be talking to eachother. I liked the non-performance songs so much better. And I also liked the early Eddie Murphy stuff, before he crosses over, and the Effie song that Jamie Foxx steals. And the Beyonce song at the end. But the actual music of the Dreams, I found really boring. It is funny because the whole point of their changing their music and putting Deena Jones as the lead singer was so that they could appeal to white people but now the "white people music" is the least memorable in the whole movie. I just don't think anyone is giving this movie enough credit for what it says about taste and racial politics.
Fifth of all, the plot. So yeah, whatever. One thing bothered me, however. So when Marty, and Cece and their lawyer threaten Jamie Foxx at the end, they are threatening to put him in jail for the stuff that made them all money in the first place. What I mean is that they threatened to tell the authorities about the payola, which you know is illegal. (I actually learned this from an episode of the Math detective series on the PBS show Square One. Nerdom begins at a very young age). But the reason Eddie Murphy was not being played on the bigger stations was because he was not paying the DJs off. So Jamie Foxx sells his business and gets enough money for air play thus throwing Eddie Murphy and the girls into the big time. And now they want to use this same payola to put him in jail. I mean maybe that is the sequel to Dreamgirls. In a business in which everyone uses payola, the person to be convicted of it is a black manager who used payola to even the playing field and bring black musicians to a white audience. I think it would have to be a normal movie. I don't think a tragic story of hubris and racism would really go with music. But maybe if it is sad enough it would get an oscar nod.
First of all, what people have been saying is totally true, Jennifer Hudson is amazing. I was all teary eyed listening to her sing, and that never happens to me. (granted I am kind of sick and emotional, but still).
Second of all, if you are considering going to see this movie, go see it now while it is still in the theater. The movie is a spectacle, that is what makes it so good. The singing, the colors, the costumes, I think to be really enjoyed it has to be in the dark and kind of overwhelming.
Third of all, no one is talking about this, but I thought Jamie Foxx was also fantastic. God, he was just so sleazy, it still makes me want to shudder.
Fourth of all, the music. So they had songs in which they were performing and then songs in which they were supposed to just kind of be talking to eachother. I liked the non-performance songs so much better. And I also liked the early Eddie Murphy stuff, before he crosses over, and the Effie song that Jamie Foxx steals. And the Beyonce song at the end. But the actual music of the Dreams, I found really boring. It is funny because the whole point of their changing their music and putting Deena Jones as the lead singer was so that they could appeal to white people but now the "white people music" is the least memorable in the whole movie. I just don't think anyone is giving this movie enough credit for what it says about taste and racial politics.
Fifth of all, the plot. So yeah, whatever. One thing bothered me, however. So when Marty, and Cece and their lawyer threaten Jamie Foxx at the end, they are threatening to put him in jail for the stuff that made them all money in the first place. What I mean is that they threatened to tell the authorities about the payola, which you know is illegal. (I actually learned this from an episode of the Math detective series on the PBS show Square One. Nerdom begins at a very young age). But the reason Eddie Murphy was not being played on the bigger stations was because he was not paying the DJs off. So Jamie Foxx sells his business and gets enough money for air play thus throwing Eddie Murphy and the girls into the big time. And now they want to use this same payola to put him in jail. I mean maybe that is the sequel to Dreamgirls. In a business in which everyone uses payola, the person to be convicted of it is a black manager who used payola to even the playing field and bring black musicians to a white audience. I think it would have to be a normal movie. I don't think a tragic story of hubris and racism would really go with music. But maybe if it is sad enough it would get an oscar nod.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Little Miss Sunshine
It is like they took every quirky indie comedy cliche and put it into a bowl and mixed it. (the academic into an obscure author, the precocious kid, the grandparent who behaves inappropriately, the strange mode of transportation, the wierd teenager who is really into something retro). That is how Eric summed up the movie the day after I saw it. (obscure author was Eric's term, I was not sure if Proust is obscure, is he? Isn't he kind of famous?) And it was funny because in the 12 hours since I had seen the movie, I had not thought of that yet. And I mean he is right. It is like the movie was driven more out of its own need to be quirky than by the characters or the needs of the narrative. Usually such things annoy me. But it has been like 2 weeks since i saw the movie and I still think of the movie fondly, so i guess they did cliche quirkiness well.
Also, I was really glad the actors won the SAG (Screen Actors Guild, which is the actors' union) award for best ensemble. I thought the acting in that movie was fantastic. And I love Steve Carell. Although I am with Stephen Colbert, I am very sad he left the news business. He was so great in this movie. His character was touching and funny.
The primary thing that was off for me was the marriage between the parents. They seemed so mismatched. I was confused as to what they had ever seen in eachother.
Also, I was really glad the actors won the SAG (Screen Actors Guild, which is the actors' union) award for best ensemble. I thought the acting in that movie was fantastic. And I love Steve Carell. Although I am with Stephen Colbert, I am very sad he left the news business. He was so great in this movie. His character was touching and funny.
The primary thing that was off for me was the marriage between the parents. They seemed so mismatched. I was confused as to what they had ever seen in eachother.
