It's Diva-licious
'Dreamgirls' is a stage classic. The film's even better.
David Ansen
Newsweek
To understand the definition of a showstopper, look no further than "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)," which became an instant Broadway legend in 1981 when Jennifer Holliday belted out the song in Michael Bennett's production of "Dreamgirls." Now, in Bill Condon's knockout movie version of the musical, the number belongs to Jennifer Hudson, and her star-making rendition is going to raise goose bumps across the land...

A musical with energy and talent to burn but missing its heart.
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
A quarter-century after its Broadway debut and after many false starts, "Dreamgirls" the musical finally arrives as "Dreamgirls" the movie. Bill Condon, who penned the screen adaptation and directed the film, squeezes every ounce of entertainment value from the show thanks in large measure to a dream cast that has Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles and Eddie Murphy leading a large, talented ensemble into a flurry of singing, dancing and shouting. Everyone works off one another's energy and talent, giving us many can-you-top-this moments...

"Dreamgirls" gets it right.
David Rooney
Variety
Finally. After "The Phantom of the Opera," "Rent" and "The Producers" botched the transfer from stage to screen, "Dreamgirls" gets it right. Bill Condon's adaptation of the 1981 show about a Motown trio's climb to crossover stardom pulls off the fundamental double-act those three musical pics all missed: It stays true to the source material while standing on its own as a fully reimagined movie. Driven by tremendously exciting musical performances, the Par/DreamWorks release should sing loud and strong through awards season and beyond.

This baby dazzles like nothing else
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Listen, I could tick off places where Dreamgirls trips up in transporting Michael Bennett's 1981 Broadway musical phenom to film. But it's hard to complain when you're at the party of the year. This baby dazzles like nothing else anywhere. Starting with its dream cast, led by Jamie Foxx and Beyonce, Dreamgirls is a movie that has everything: a blazing new star in Jennifer Hudson, a riveting, revitalized Eddie Murphy, a hot-lick score by Henry Krieger and the late Tom Eyen, a timely story about how music can sell its soul to greed and compromise, and a dynamo of a director and screenwriter in Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Kinsey). He's the white guy with the brass to direct a tale of black artists who break faith with race, family and R&B to swim in the mainstream. As he proved with his script for Chicago, Condon also knows his way around a musical. He keeps Dreamgirls charging until it moves right into your heart...

She's screen 'Dream'
'Idol' finalist Jennifer Hudson steals show in thrilling film debut
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
As it happens, "Dreamgirls" has plenty of energy of its own. It has great music, costumes and choreography, and much to say about the delayed breakthrough of black artists in early rock 'n' roll. It also features a surprisingly effective performance by Eddie Murphy as an ill-fated, James Brown-style rocker.