Delayed Reaction: Dreamgirls

The Pitch: Based on the musical that's based on Motown, but not really, but it totally is.

How I Came Into It: I remember Dreamgirls as an awards player, less for its victories (Jennifer Hudson for Supporting Actress, Sound Mixing) than its losses (Eddie Murphy for Supporting Actor, Best Song despite three nominations) and outright snubs (Best Picture, Director).

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) That's some good music. Especially with the amount of time it has to cover, this does a great job keeping the energy up and never going too long without a musical number. It doesn't try at all to hide the fact that the characters are stand-ins for Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, and others, which I kind of like. The nominated performances were the best ones in the movie. Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy are a level above the rest of the cast.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I think anyone who complains about Anne Hathaway winning for Les Miserables because of one song has to agree too that Hudson didn't deserve her win either then (and at least Hathaway had years of support from Rachel Getting Married and Brokeback Mountain propelling her forward). While Eddie Murphy is solid here, he also never should've considered himself a frontrunner in his category. Quite frankly, this whole movie reeks of award desperation.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend