Hoping to help Jimmy and the girls cross over to mainstream audiences, Curtis starts his own record label, Rainbow Records ("The Sound of Tomorrow"), out of his car dealership's office, and makes C.C. his head songwriter. However, when Rainbow's first single fails after a white pop group releases a cover version, Curtis and his sidekick Wayne turn to payola. By paying the right people, Curtis manages to get Jimmy and the Dreamettes to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and into a headlining gig at the Apollo Theater. Offstage, Effie is quickly becoming infatuated with the slick-talking Curtis, and Jimmy - a married man - begins an adulterous affair with Lorrell, who becomes equally as lovesick as Effie.
Marty grows weary of Curtis' plans to make Jimmy's image and sound more pop-friendly, to the point that he walks out on Jimmy, both his client and best friend. However, when Curtis finds that he cannot completely remake Jimmy Early into a pop act, he shifts his attention back to the Dreamettes. Feeling that Effie's voice is too "special" and her figure too large to attract white audiences, Curtis appoints the slimmer Deena as the lead singer of the Dreamettes. Though both Effie and Deena are disapproving of the change at first, they both learn to accept it.
With the aid of new songs and a new more glamorous image, Curtis and C.C. transform The Dreamettes into The Dreams, a top selling pop act whose popularity comes to rival that of The Beatles by 1965. However, the betrayed Effie does not take kindly to being reduced to Deena's backup, and begins acting out, becoming even more unruly when Curtis' affections also turn towards Deena. When Effie, feeling ill, does not turn up to rehearse for the Dreams' debut in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve 1966 , Curtis replaces Effie with his secretary, Michelle Morris. Effie, who has just learned she is pregnant, arrives at the Caesar's Palace venue just as Michelle does, and after a nearly violent argument, finds herself without her group, without her brother, and without Curtis.
Though still part of the Rainbow roster, Jimmy Early's stardom has long faded, and Curtis has little interest in revitalizing his career. Unsatisfied with both his wife Melba and his long-term mistress Lorrell, Jimmy turns to drugs for affection. Meanwhile, C.C. continues to reach out to Effie, who stubbornly ignores the letters and money he sends. Eventually, Effie swallows her pride and, with Marty as her manager, returns to singing and secures gigs at a small Detroit club.
In 1974, Rainbow Records hosts a tenth anniversary TV special. Midway through his set, Jimmy decides that he cannot sing any more "sad songs", so he breaks down onstage and launches into a wild James Brown-type funk number. The audience seems to love it, but the act goes too far when Jimmy drops his pants on live television. Curtis consequently terminates Jimmy's contract, and Lorrell reluctantly ends the eight-year affair.
Shortly after the special, Deena meets with a film producer and writer in an attempt to get a role in a grittier film than Curtis' glossy Cleopatra update, and after some negotiations they agree to give her the film role. Back at Rainbow Records, C.C. walks out on Curtis and the label after learning that Curtis has taken C.C.'s latest composition and turned it into a rhythm-heavy dance track (identifiable as early disco). His resignation is interrupted, however, by the news that Jimmy Early has been found dead at an L.A. hotel from a heroin overdose.
C.C. leaves L.A. and Michelle, now his girlfriend, to return to Detroit and find Effie. The two siblings reconcile and work together to produce Effie's comeback single, "One Night Only". Just as the record begins gaining radio play in Detroit, however, Curtis strikes. Using payola, he forces radio DJs to play a disco cover of "One Night Only" by Deena Jones & the Dreams instead of Effie's original, and the Dreams' version becomes a major hit in early 1975.
Curtis has also learned of Deena's covert meetings with other film producers and asserts his control over his wife. Rebuffed, Deena sneaks into Curtis' office, where she discovers evidence of Curtis' payola schemes and a copy of Effie's version of "One Night Only". She calls Effie and C.C., who arrive at the Rainbow offices with Marty and a lawyer. As Deena and Effie reconcile, Curtis works out a deal with the lawyer to avoid being reported to the FBI for payola: Rainbow Records will fund a new label for C.C., which will allow Effie's record national distribution. Curtis then confronts Deena, only to find that Effie's victory has inspired Deena to leave him and make it on her own.
As a result, Deena Jones & the Dreams give a farewell performance at the Detroit Theater. At the conclusion of the concert, Effie joins Deena, Lorrell, and Michelle onstage and the reunited Dreams give one final performance of their signature song, "Dreamgirls", with Effie singing lead. As the concert ends, Curtis notices Magic in the front row and seemingly realizes that he is the girl's father.
Cast
- Jamie Foxx as Curtis Taylor, Jr. Based upon Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr.,[4] Curtis is a slick Cadillac dealer-turned-record executive who founds the Rainbow Records label and shows ruthless ambition in his quest to make his black artists household names with white audiences. At first, he is dating Effie and later becomes attracted to Deena and breaks up with Effie and kicks her out of the group. He eventually marries Deena also. Father to Magic.
- Beyoncé Knowles as Deena Jones. Based upon Motown star Diana Ross,[5] Deena is loving toward her Dreamgirl "sisters" and very beautiful, but is a sheltered girl who allows her husband Curtis to transform her into the Dreams' lead singer and Rainbow's biggest star all because of her looks and voice and it causes her mother to realize that Curtis is using her as a product. Knowles was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance.
- Eddie Murphy as James "Thunder" Early. "Jimmy" Early, inspired by R&B/soul singers such as David Ruffin, Jackie Wilson, and Marvin Gaye,[4] is a raucous performer on the Rainbow label whom Curtis attempts to repackage as a pop-friendly balladeer. Murphy won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the film.
- Jennifer Hudson as Effie White. Inspired by Supremes member Florence Ballard[5] and soul singers Etta James and Aretha Franklin,[4] the plus-sized Effie is a talented yet temperamental singer who suffers after Curtis, the man she loves, replaces her as lead singer of the Dreams with Deena and later drops her altogether. Mother of Magic.Hudson won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, among many other awards, for her portrayal of Effie.
- Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell Robinson. Lorrell, inspired by Supremes member Mary Wilson,[6] is a good-natured background singer with the Dreams who falls deeply in love with the married Jimmy Early and becomes his mistress. She is slightly naive and her soul singer sisters are protective of her.
- Danny Glover as Marty Madison. Jimmy's original manager before Curtis steps into the picture, Marty serves as both counsel and confidant to Jimmy, and later to Effie as well.
- Keith Robinson as C.C. White. Inspired by Motown vice president, artist, and songwriter Smokey Robinson,[7] Effie's soft-spoken younger brother C.C. (Clarence Conrad) serves as the main songwriter for first the Dreamettes and later the entire Rainbow roster. Uncle to Magic.
- Sharon Leal as Michelle Morris. Michelle, based upon Supremes member Cindy Birdsong,[8] replaces Effie in the Dreams and becomes C.C.'s love interest.
- Hinton Battle as Wayne. Wayne is a salesman at Curtis' Cadillac dealership who becomes Rainbow's first record producer and Curtis' henchman.
Throughout the film, a number of other musical acts depicted as allusions to or analogues of real-life R&B performers appear, among them Little Albert & the Tru-Tones (Little Anthony & The Imperials), Tiny Joe Dixon (B. B. King), The Family Funk (Sly & the Family Stone), and The Campbell Connection (The Jackson 5).
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