“Dreamgirls”
***
Is it as fabulous as it could have been? Not quite. Still, writer-director Bill Condon’s adaptation of the beloved Broadway hit about the rise and rivalries of an R&B girl group is candy. As Deena Jones, Beyoncé Knowles never finds what roils beneath her character’s crossover facade. (Too bad, given the woman who replaces the original lead of the Dreamettes is based on Diana Ross.) The double-edged complexity of Jamie Foxx’s car-salesman- turned-music-impresario also goes underexposed. But Jennifer Hudson’s breakout performance as Effie White sends “Dreamgirls” soaring. And Eddie Murphy has fun and gives it, playing a wild soul man. |PG-13|125 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus”
***
Director Steven Shainberg’s smart, through-the- looking-glass fantasy about famed photographer Diane Arbus is one of those independent films that boasts astute performances yet never becomes a transcendent outing. Nicole Kidman delivers a typically fine-tuned turn as the photographer who in the 1960s created works that challenged notions of normal and abnormal. Robert Downey Jr.’s eyes beguile and challenge as Lionel, neighbor and catalyst of Diane’s transformation from anxious to artistic. Arbus killed herself in 1971. She was 48. Yet it’s not Arbus’ end that makes “Fur” beautiful but also dour at times. It’s the earnest burden of art with a capital A weighing on the film’s mood.|R| 120 minutes |Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“Little Children”
*** 1/2
This is an oddly toned comedy/drama about suburban adultery and child-molester panic. It feels unsatisfying while you watch – but I’ll bet you talk about it more than any other film this year. With Kate Winslet and Jennifer Connelly. |R| 130 minutes|Released today|Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
“Happily N’Ever After ”
**
A soulless, bland and cynical update of the classic “Cinderella” story that isn’t half as funny or hip as it seems to think it is. The voice talent includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Andy Dick and Wallace Shawn.|PG| 87 minutes|Released today |Misha Davenport, Chicago Sun Times
