DREAMGIRLS

I finally was able to rent this movie yesterday, although now that i have a child I am for some reason unable to watch a movie from the beginning to the end. So I end up watching it in fragments - not the best- but better than nothing. I like it but it is obviously nothing like the Broadway Musical. This was the first musical that I ever saw in New York City on my very first trip to New York for the 4th of July with my sister Catharine in 1986 (?) (plane ride alone - only the two of us) to meet our Papa Healey in New York. Needless to say that it was the best trip of my life. I was blown away - by New York, the music-- basically everything.
Dreamgirls is a period piece set in the 1960s and 1970s with a primarily African-American cast, Dreamgirls is adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name. The musical was loosely based on the history and evolution of American R&B music during the eras of doo-wop, soul, the Motown Sound, funk, and disco. Dreamgirls contains several allusions to the lives and careers of Motown Records act The Supremes, a connection the film version expands upon. Dreamgirls follows the lives of Effie White, Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson, three young women who form an R&B singing trio from Detroit, Michigan called "The Dreamettes". Thanks to manipulative agent and record executive Curtis Taylor, Jr., the Dreamettes become famous as the backing group for soul singer James "Thunder" Early - (a.k.a. James Brown) Conflict arises when Curtis transforms "The Dreamettes" into the pop-friendly "Dreams," particularly when he has Deena replace Effie as both lead singer of the group and as his romantic interest.
So as you can imagine I was not as impressed by the movie because they (as usual and for reasons I can not imagine) changed things. And since I know the music by heart - have had the casette tape that I bought on that trip in 1986 of the orginal Broadway cast and have listened to it off and on for the last what is it...21 years...scary. In fact, I played it often to Madison when he was just a babe in arms because I wanted him to know the joy of Motown - just as I am introducing him to the Rolling Stones now as a toddler- he loves Gimme Shelter by the way.
Well, that's my two cents on this picture...also at the infamous Blockbuster I rented the new version of Charlotte's Web ---again why did they think they could alter a time honored story??? I like Julia Roberts as Charlotte and the voice of Wilbur is cute- but I didn't really believe Dakota Fanning as Fern - she is too cute to be Fern. Any thoughts???