More a real “musical” than, say, Walk the Line or Ray, both of which featured singing but only when the actors were on stage. Whereas this has those random “I’m talking to you but wait, now I’m singing to you!” moments.
Eddie Murphy was GREAT. Not a character you really LIKED but he did a great job and he was one of the most humorous parts of the movie, which in some ways I felt was missing some humor. One song that went on way too long, and when I checked afterward, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way… Jennifer Hudson was pretty impressive and the movie only affirms the fact that Beyonce sings about as well as…J Lo. Or me. Or you. Anybody can sound “good” mixed correctly; only some people can sound “great” and neither one of them falls into that category; Jennifer does.
Really hated Jamie Foxx in this, and not all because of who he was playing. Seemed to have a really sullen sticking-out-his-bottom-lip, barely-moving-his-mouth thing going on.
Overall, good performances, good singing. Seems like a bunch of real-world stories (Supremes, Jacksons, etc.) all sort of thrown into one fictional story. Ddn’t realize it was a stage play first. Interesting.