Move over “Chicago” – and for that matter, “Rent” and “The Phantom of the Opera” – this is the most incredible transfer of stage to screen in history! Adapted from the 1981 Tony award-winning musical, comes the story of a hard-driving stage manager, Curtis (Jamie Foxx) who sees his goldmine in a trio of singers from Detroit, circa 1960s (think the Supremes) and soars them to international fame. Driven by dazzling and over-the-top musical performances, the movie is the one to beat, come Oscar time. The visuals – the body-hugging dresses, the nostalgic inter-cuts of Martin Luther King and Detroit fever – transcend us back to the time when R & B got its soul and sound. And what’s going on backstage is another story. Effie (American Idol runner-up, Jennifer Hudson) explodes on the screen in the Jennifer Holiday role of the demanding Diva pushed aside for the prettier Deena Jones (Beyonce Knowles) to steal her lead, and eventually steal her man, Curtis. Jamie Foxx takes a step backwards in his Curtis role, maintaining the sedate and icy edge his character requires, a far-cry from the deep and passionate performance he gave in “Ray” that won him the Oscar. It’s good to see Danny Glover back on screen, as the local and competitive manager, who has to roll with the punches as the stakes are raised. But it’s Eddie Murphy as singer James “Thunder” Early – a real comeback kid that will, hands down, give him his long awaited Academy Award. Four tiaras
