http://www.youtube.com/wa...DJHxQ22TnM

I still can't get over how good Eddie was in Dreamgirls,,,,I'm rooting for him the MOST

Yay. Probably my third favorite musical sequence in the movie behind And I'm Telling You... and Steppin' to the Bad Side.

I'm beginning to dig Eddie's version over the original,,,,,am I wrong?

Harlepolis said:

Not at all.
That's my favorite song in the movie.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Steppin' To The Bad Side was the SHIT!

Eddie seemed to be playing an amalgamtion of his characters from his SNL days, so he didn't impress me, except in that one poignant scene when he was shot down by Jamie Foxx about that new song and without saying any words, he slowly opened up his heroine stuff and it was gut-wrenching. Good stuff there.

Harlepolis said:

No, you're not. He's a better singer.

CosmicTalk said:

Thats why I'm so crazy about his role in Dreamgirls.

This is radically different than anything he did.

Its sad though that he came back to that buffonary bullshit on Norbit.

He's the weakest performance out of all the Best Supporting Actor nominees (Djimon Hounsou and Jackie Earle Haley are my favs). Hudson is probably the 4th best of the 5 in the Supporting Actress too. Although none of them are as bad as Helen Mirren. Just WHY are the weakest ones the hot favourites to win the Oscars?

Ellie said:

Becoz James Early is pretty much outta his lead,,,,so its more of folks appreciating the difference.

Nah, doesn't make sense to me. I mean Peter O'Toole is the most nominated person ever to not win a competetive Oscar, yet he's still not going to win - and he doesn't exactly have much time left to get one. Jennifer Hudson is only even nominated because it's her debut performance and she surprised people. I thought she was acceptable but not mindblowing. Rinko Kikuchi is making her debut too (but I personally think she's the weak link in the category and that Maribel Verdú deserved the nomination over her).

If it's a case of Eddie Murphy surprising people because it was a giant leap compared to his previous roles, why not root for Marky bleedin' Mark? He's more of a shock nomination to me than Murphy.
[Edited 2/17/07 10:35am]

Seems to me that you're expecting MORE than what people can deliever
[Edited 2/17/07 10:43am]

What's wrong with that? I just want the best people to win, and they almost never do. Don't even get me started on the last couple of Best Picture winners at the Oscars

See, it's like the year everyone was outraged when Madonna didn't get nominated for Evita. Why should she? So she's a crap actress delivering the performance of her lifetime. She exceeded expectations and did really well. It still doesn't mean she was in the Top 5 best performances that year, and she wasn't. Maybe in a weaker year she might have been, but tough luck. And for Supporting Actors THIS year, it's very very strong and I don't think Murphy deserves to be there.
[Edited 2/17/07 10:51am]

Seems like Eddie doing his James Brown impression to me. It's entertaining, though.

Ellie said:

LOL Nothing,,,,,its frustrating though

I agree Eddie's performance was an amalgamation of impressions, but he took what could have been a cheesy joke of a character, and made it into something richer. All of his musical moments were great. I thought "Steppin'..." was the best sequence in th film. But my favorite Jimmy Early moment was his breakdown on national TV.

"Jimmy wanna a rib, Jimmy wanna steak, Jimmy wanna piece of yo chocolate cake!"
[Edited 2/17/07 10:58am]

Ok now that shit WAS funny!

Eddie was fantastic... The movie was the worst...

YAY

E

Ellie said:

I got an idea for you - stop paying attention to the Oscars. They seem to make you irate.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Ever since chart music turned to shite one of my movie-buff friends totally got me into hyping up the Oscars. During this season we go to see everything just so we can have an opinion on it all.

Before a few years ago I'd only ever usually seen 1 or 2 of the main nominees, so I'd be rooting for them even though I was ignorant to the rest. Now it's fun, but ever so irritating when the worst ones win almost every year

First of all, I listen to the Dreamgirls soundtrack almost daily.

There are only 3 songs I MUST hear -- and "Fake Your Way to the Top" is one of them. (the other two are "I Love U I DO" and "And I Am Telling You.")

This song is so true, energetic, and SAD.
I still can't get over the concept: "You can fake your way to the top but it's always real, so real when you're coming down!... Help me Jesus!" Ha ha.

A lot of pop singers are experiencing that right now.


Eddie has so much personality. He's my favorite in the movie. I think the movie actually hinges on him a great deal...when he died I was looking at my watch for the movie to be over.

I would say Eddie, even more than Jennifer, carried the film.

I also love "I Want You" does anyone else notice the vibe of Prince's "The Beautiful Ones" in all that angst, hunger and desperation. Even the line ...I Want You ...

JesseDezz said:

People keep saying this and I don't see it at all. The comic routines on SNL, which I loved, are played for easy laughs and are very different from the serious, layered performances he gives in Dreamgirls.

Let me tell you ... I went to the movie dead set on watching Eddie and to scrutinize his acting...and I become so lost in his performance ...I forgot to consciously judge him. He drew me in, so authentic. Not at all the bald-face farce and transperent laughs from SNL or Norbit-style stuff.

I think he's perfectly deserving of an Oscar.

P.S. Jim Carrey does this public annoucement about money for victims of Katrina I think ...I kept waiting for the joke and wanted to burst out laughing. Then, I said, oh, he's serious! He's raising money. My bad. He looked like he was doing a comedic schtick, like he was on the verge of howling. He couldn't bury his funny.

Not so with Eddie in Dreamgirls ...I never almost laughed during his serious scenes. Not once.

Not many could bring the charisma he brought to the Jimmy Early character in such a powerful way that was both light and funny and ironically deep and moving.

Seriously? One of Eddie's final scenes was when he gets "fired" from the label. This moment is supposed to directly lead to him taking a heroin overdose, but his facial expression is simply dead, like it doesn't even matter.

Have you even seen Blood Diamond with Djimon Hounsou or Little Children with Jackie Earle Haley? That's greatness.
[Edited 2/18/07 8:31am]

Harlepolis said:

So am I! I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard from a friend that it is a great film!

I did download the track, "Fake Your Way To The Top" on iTunes yesterday, as a result of this thread, and I love it. Eddie has always been a good singer in my book. I will hopefully see this movie and Norbit, before they leave theaters.

Co-Sign with Harlepolis..My vote is for Eddie also!

Ellie said:

what crack are you smoking?

SynthiaRose said:

I saw that in his "Jimmy's Rap" per4mance.

Though, I don't see James Thunder as a James Brown knock-off,,,I think he echoes Marvin Gaye more so than he does Brown.

1st of all, James Brown was a man in command of his craft. Marvin on the other hand fought for commandingship against Berry(Which was also shown as Thunder struggled to maintain his identity against Curtis' well).

Also his media image, the drugs and the "featuring Dreamgirls" scene which reminds me of Marvin when he featured The Supremes(in their all-star Apollo per4mance back in the early 60's).

There's alot of clues that bring Marvin to mind,,,,,like that jeans shirt and the hat he wore in his "Lets Get It On" album cover, ring the bell?

Stuff like that

During Inside the Actor's Studio Murphy said the character is a combination of Brown, Gaye, Richard and many others...but in the end, the character is its own.

sosgemini said:

Thats the thing I like about his character,,,,its a fusion of ALOT of people. Even Jackie Wilson(ala the per4mance of that society Miami club).

But story wise,,,I personaly see alot of Marvin Gaye more than anybody.

Ellie said:

I know what great acting is and am well versed in cinema. I never used "greatness" to define Eddie.
His performance isn't transcendent but in this heap, this year, with this movie, I'd give him the award (which is SUBJECTIVE).

Hounsou has done better acting, such as with "In America." And Blood Diamond isn't moving to me.

I agree Haley is damn good, especially in such a twisted role, that is not getting nearly the high-profile publicity (in media or in the few theatres willing to play it) as Dreamgirls.

Lots of factors go into crowning performances as Oscar-worthy. It is subjective.
So no need thinking others are don't get it if they believe differently than you.