Dreamgirls

"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..."

"The sigh you will hear across the country in the next few weeks is the sound of a gratified audience: a great movie musical has been made at last..."

"If there is a disappointment, it is this: The anticipation may have exceeded the realization. It's a damn good commercial movie, but it is not the film that will revive the musical or win over the world..."

"The film has strong roles, good actors and a compelling story ... But it has, with only a couple of exceptions, a pedestrian score that sounds like generic show-music schlock and lyrics that are not distinctive..."

"This baby dazzles like nothing else anywhere..."

"Dreamgirls is the entire musical package, a triumph of old school on-screen glamour, and we wouldn't want it any other way..."

"Dreamgirls is a better musical than "Chicago" or "Rent," but then, that isn't really saying much..."