Detroit, the early 1960s. Curtis Taylor, Jr., a car salesman, breaks into the music business with big dreams. He signs a trio of young women, the Dreamettes, gets them a job backing an R&B performer, James "Thunder" Early, establishes his own record label and starts wheeling and dealing. When Early flames out, Curtis makes the Dreamettes into headliners as the Dreams, but not before demoting their hefty big-voiced lead singer, Effie White, and putting the softer-voiced looker, Deena Jones, in front. Soon after, he fires Effie, sends her into a life of proud poverty, and takes Deena and the Dreams to the top. How long can Curtis stay there, and will Effie ever get her due?
Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
After the original stage production proved successful, the film version went through several incarnations. In the late 1980s Whitney Houston was considered for the role of Deena, but negotiations fell through when Houston insisted that Deena sing some of Effie's songs, specifically, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", as well. In the early 1990s, after the success of
What's Love Got to Do with It, Joel Schumacher was set to direct, with Lauryn Hill set to play Deena and Kelly Price to play Effie. However, after the box-office failure of several other musical biopics, the project was again shelved. After the success of
Chicago, the producers approached Bill Condon, who had long considered an adaptation his dream project.
See more »
Goofs
Incorrectly regarded as goofs:
The Dreams' success montage includes a picture of the trio standing on the Great Wall of China. While the U.S. and China had no diplomatic relations from 1949 to 1971 (Washington had ties with Taiwan instead), there were numerous cultural contacts between the two countries in the late 1960's, not least because China and the USSR were having strained relations and China wanted to improve relations with the U.S., and having a famous group like the Dreams in China would have been very possible.
See more »
Quotes
Curtis Taylor Jr.:
Deena, you know why I chose you to sing lead? Because your voice... has no personality. No depth. Except for what I put in there. See more »
Crazy Credits
The original 1981 "Playbill" cover for the Broadway version of "Dreamgirls" is displayed during the end credits just before the names of the show's Broadway creators are featured.
See more »