Similarly, the score is a Broadway one with a wider range of R&B/soul influences than only the Motown Sound. Even if “Dreamgirls” were trying to perfectly reflect Motown’s music, the “Motown Sound” should only be present in a small fraction of the songs performed, given the timeline of the film’s plot. The “Motown Sound” era began in 1963 and ended in about 1971, “Dreamgirls” takes place from 1962 to 1966, and 1973 to 1975). A soundtrack full of songs that sound like “Baby Love” and “My Girl” might be nice for fans wh oenjoy that surface-layer of Motown’s catalogues, but it wouldn’t be accurate to the music that came out of the record label during the entirety of the 1960s and 1970s. Although tempered through the stylings of Broadway, “Dreamgirls” gets it closer to right than a lot of people seem to realize. The thing it gets most right is the fact that the story criticizes Motown as much as it pays tribute to it: the film takes the position of most R&B historians in criticizing the label for cutting its R&B to make it palatable to white audiences. Notice, once The Dreams crossover, how the company ignores the Civil Rights Movement happening around them, particularly the 12th Street riots in Detroit.

As someone who knows the history behind Motown “frontways and backways”, I should be the first person offended by the film. Instead, I was thoroughly impressed by just how much Bill Condon studied the history of Motown and the other prominent R&B labels and artists of the era.

This is a script that won the 1981 Tony for Best Book of a Musical. It was fleshed out and certain details changed, but Roger’s original criticism wasn’t of the stage-to-screen transition, but rather of the script as a whole.

Are there musicals you *do* like, Roger, or is this just rating a very, very good film of a musical poorly because it isn’t a straight film?

In 1968, Gordy moved to Los Angeles and Motown followed in 1972. In the 70′s Gordy produced, “Lady Sings the Blues” starring Diana Ross, with Richard Pryor and Billy Dee Williams. Ross was nominated for an Academy Award. Berry Gordy soon after produced and directed “Mahogany,” also starring Ross.

I should try doing my research first:

Gordy sold Motown Records to MCA 1988 for $61 million. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and published an autobiography, “To Be Loved”, in 1994. He is now 77.

Gordy has been married and divorced several times, and has seven children: Hazel Joy, Berry, Kennedy, Kerry, Rhonda, Stefan and Terry James. Rhonda is the daughter of Gordy and Diana Ross.

Unlike many similar films, it doesn’t go for over the top theatrics. Eddie Murphy plays a James Brown type singer who is very mild mannered off stage. The diva isn’t the best looking dream, but the least looking one.

This wikipedia article breaks down the parallels. If you are a student of the history of this music, you would see it is based on historical fact (except the way things turn out for some characters)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamgirls

I personally likes the way they had Beyonce look like Diana Ross through out the years, matching her look (if not her personality) perfectly. She even sings like her in some scenes.