Bagger on "Dreamgirls" flop
"Some will suggest that [Dreamgirls' loss] is a race thing, that an all-black cast has a hard time with the Academy, " writes N.Y. Times Oscar guy David Carr (a.k.a., "the Bagger"), "but check out the diversity among the actor nominations and ignore that excuse.
"What happened then? Mainly, Clint Eastwood, deep into his career, innovated midstream and came up with a Japanese take on the Battle of Iwo Jima. It's the kind of artistic and entrepreneurial performance that merits recognition and the Academy gave it.
"Dreamgirls also got skunked when it came to best director, perhaps because the voters had seen it before in Chicago. Still, the movie is an exquisite restaging of the stage musical and seemed worthy of a nomination. But the Academy, and this is just the Bagger typing in a hotel room, apparently decided that that there was not enough movie in the movie. The Bagger fell for all the stitching between songs, but others did not."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 23, 2007 at 12:29 PM
comment #1
sardine
says ...
dreamgirls did not make it because it is a terrible movie.
Posted by sardine
at January 23, 2007 1:21 PM
comment #2
TheScott2K
says ...
Maybe, just maybe, we're all so tired of being fed a single big-budget musical every year and being told "It's a sure-fire Best Picture!" After Moulin Rouge, Chicago, and (the attempted) Rent, I'm sick of everyone acting like you must love a movie just because it has big, impressive musical numbers. Dreamgirls was a decent date movie, but it isn't any sort of achievement.
Posted by TheScott2K
at January 23, 2007 2:14 PM
comment #3
zoey
says ...
Dreamgirls is a really unimpressive movie except for the singing. Take the musical numbers out of the movie, string what's left together, and you're left with a pile of trite dialogue and one-note acting.
Posted by zoey
at January 23, 2007 2:19 PM
comment #4
JD
says ...
Now that the tide is turning against Dreamgirls, I'd like to declare Abigail Breslin the new frontrunner for best supporting actress. Maybe I'm totally wrong about this, but I thought she was the best thing in the movie and most people I've spoken to about LMS seem to agree. Plus, I don't think I'm alone in fearing the ramifications of an American Idol contestant winning an Oscar. Then again, I haven't even seen Dreamgirls so maybe I'm 100% wrong.
Posted by JD
at January 23, 2007 2:59 PM
comment #5
Craig Kennedy
says ...
I'm as skeptical as JD about the talents of your average Idol contestant, but I thought Jennifer Hudson was great in Dreamgirls. When/if she wins, I won't have a problem and in fact will take some comfort knowing she was rejected by American Idol.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at January 23, 2007 3:45 PM
comment #6
Nick Rogers
says ...
Should Abigail Breslin win, that to me almost certainly would signal a "Little Miss Sunshine" Best Picture win. Best Supporting Actress is always one of the earliest awards handed out if memory serves me.
Posted by Nick Rogers
at January 23, 2007 4:03 PM
comment #7
jeffmcm
says ...
That would be a shocker. I fully expect Hudson to win it, especially since now the Dreamgirls marketing team can focus on her and Murphy. The Babel twosome will cancel each other out (plus they didn't have a chance anyway) and Cate Blanchett already has one.
Posted by jeffmcm
at January 23, 2007 5:26 PM
comment #8
Hallick
says ...
Saying "Letter From Iwo Jima" got the slot instead of "Dreamgirls" would mean that "Dreamgirls" was in the fifth, on-the-bubble position - which is STILL a headline since most of the pundits thought it would rank first or second; at worst, maybe fourth.
And, to make an even more depressing (for the team behind DG) observation, who knows if it was even sixth? Maybe "Children of Men", "Pan's Labyrinth", or "United 93" knocked it even further out of contention.
Posted by Hallick
at January 23, 2007 9:29 PM
comment #9
Hallick
says ...
Dammit. I didn't mean to say "Letters From Iwo Jima" took the fifth position, because for all anyone knows, "Babel" or "Little Miss Sunshine" was the film that edged out "Dreamgirls" and Iwo Jima is stronger than anyone imagined.
Posted by Hallick
at January 23, 2007 9:32 PM
comment #10
ArchiveGuy
says ...
I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that "Letters" squeaked in. It is the classic kind of film that should garner tons of technical nods (Cinematography, Editing, Sound) but didn't. That means that the support among the rank-&-file was probably a bit soft, and it benefitted from a small-but-significant percentage that shot it to the Top 5 with their #1 votes.
Heck, if you think about it, "Letters" is the most typical Oscar-bait of the 5 (important topic, historical epic, period flavoring) but garnered the fewest nods of the Pic contenders. The fact that it opened so late probably didn't help matters either, but at least now it'll get a fair viewing (though the only category I can possibly see it winning is the Sound Editing award).
Posted by ArchiveGuy
at January 24, 2007 9:37 AM
comment #11
adorian
says ...
For all the "Dreamgirls" hate, it turned out to be the #1 film at the box office Tuesday (nomination announcement day). Did people rush out to see it because they feared it was going to be pulled from theaters this coming Friday to make room for "The Departed" re-release?
Posted by adorian
at January 24, 2007 3:27 PM
comment #12
Lola
says ...
It came in first place last Wednesday, too, and made more money. I think Tuesday could be a combination of getting the most noms, plus the fact that the two movies that were ahead of it Monday (Night at the Museum and Stomp the Yard) were for younger audiences who are in school.
Posted by Lola
at January 24, 2007 3:56 PM