In 1960s Detroit, a good night onstage can
get you noticed but it won’t get your song played on the
radio. Here, a new kind of music is on the cusp of being
born – a sound with roots buried deep in the soul of Detroit
itself, where songs are about more than what’s on the
surface, and everyone is bound together by a shared dream.
Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx) is a car salesman aching to
make his mark in the music business – to form his own record
label and get its sound heard on mainstream radio at a time
when civil rights are still only a whisper in the streets.
He just needs the angle, the right talent, the right product
to sell.
Late for their stint in a local talent show, The Dreamettes
– Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles), Lorrell Robinson (Anika
Noni Rose), and lead singer Effie White (Jennifer Hudson) –
show up in their cheap wigs and homemade dresses, rehearsing
songs and steps by Effie’s brother, C.C. (Keith Robinson),
with hopes that talent and sheer desire will break them out
of the only life that seems available to them.
They’re young. They’re beautiful. They’re just what Curtis
is looking for.
All they have to do is trust him.
James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy) is a pioneer of the new
Detroit sound, spellbinding audiences all along the
“Chitlin’ Circuit” with his electrifying blend of soul and
rock ‘n’ roll. Curtis finesses The Dreamettes a gig singing
backup for Early, and suddenly, for all of them, the gulf
between what they want and what they can have draws closer
for the first time.
Curtis launches the girls as a solo act, rechristening them
The Dreams, knowing in his gut that success lies not with
the soulful voice of Effie, but with the demure beauty and
malleable style of Deena – despite their history…and Curtis’
promises. Deena is ready to step into the spotlight, even as
Effie fades away.
As a new musical age dawns, Curtis’ driving ambition pushes
this one-time family to the forefront of an industry in the
throes of music revolution. But when the lights come up and
the curtains part, they hardly recognize who they’ve become.
Their dreams are finally there for the taking, but at a
price that may be too heavy for their hearts to bear.
The groundbreaking Tony Award-winning Broadway phenomenon
comes to life as an all-new motion picture adaptation
written and directed by Academy Award®® winner Bill Condon.
A Laurence Mark production presented by DreamWorks Pictures
and Paramount Pictures, “Dreamgirls,” is a compelling story
of love and loyalty, fame and betrayal that tracks the
struggle, sacrifices and triumphs of a group of outsiders
carrying their landmark sound into mainstream America in the
1960s and ’70s.
© DreamWorks Pictures. All
rights reserved
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