I found myself seriously resenting all of them.
-
geearf — 9 years ago(June 23, 2016 11:31 PM)
It didn't bother me.
To me she brought it on herself.
Who knows how long has she been messing stuff up, I mean for the group to look for a replacement and get a good one, it wouldn't just have been a week of trouble.
At the time, they were trying to break into the caucasian market, which was already hard, but with more Effie trouble, could have maybe stopped it for all the other non-caucasian groups, not just the Dream
On the other hand I found it interesting how in the beginning she's the evil one to me, and it eventually becomes curtis. Apart from Jimmy's manager who left earlier, the move away from Effie and then Curtis were quite similar. -
Kelea7 — 14 years ago(February 13, 2012 01:24 PM)
I found myself seriously resenting all of them.
Yes, I know Effie was childish at times, and acted like somewhat of a diva. But she was justified. She truly was the best singer in the group. Curtis was only driven by money, he was a cold-hearted business-man as we are shown later in the movie, altering songs to make them more commercial at the expense of losing out on the actual feel of the music. Denying Jimmy the chance to get a break by putting a song out there with an actual message, and so on. His reasons for making Deena the lead were purely money-driven. It also becomes quite evident that he has taken a shine to her and started sleeping with her. This is clearly implied, none of them deny it when they are accused and you can see them exchanging certain looks even before Curtis announced that Deena was going to be the lead. How could anyone expect Effie to just quietly stand by and accept that her man and her best friend were betraying her? Yes, she could have handled herself more professionally, but who can honestly blame her for flipping out?
Effie's tantrums were completely justified in my eyes. Not only had she been dismissed to singing in the back, the group changed the name to "DEENA & the Dreams", but she was also losing Curtis to Deena.
Deena and Curtis betrayed her and everyone in the group ganged up on her and kicked her out of the group, even as she was begging on her knees for another chance. Even her own brother showed no mercy on her!
To me this is a movie about how the prospect of money and fame can destroy even the closest relationship and how people are willing to sacrifice people they supposedly love for a shot at a big break.
Sure, her brother did send her money, out of guilt, but money couldn't undo anything and personally I would be completely devastated if my best friend, my boyfriend and
my brother
did this to me. I felt so terribly sorry for her and
I hated how the movie tried to play it off as it was her own fault.
Even if it was, weren't they always saying how they were a family?
Do families do that to one another? Do they kick a member out if he/she becomes a little difficult?
That's not the kind of family I'm used to.
Oh, well. I know it's just a movie. But it actually got to me.
Ive noticed quite a few people here seem to think Effie was a bitch that deserved being abandoned by all of her friends and her own brother,
but I just don't see it.
I was rooting for her the whole time and I actually found it really hard to forgive any of them for what they did. Especially Deena and her brother.
I thought I was the only one! The bolded is what got to me the most. I don't think the movie did a good job of characterization in that sense. Something was missing if I wasn't supposed to be rooting for Effie. It just, it just wasn't enough. Effie never came off as the overbearing, cruel, girl to me. Out of control, maybe, but more as way of acting out, being scared. Her divatude etc seemed like an an act to me, it never really seemed like she believed what she was saying fully. Which I guess is partly what we were suppoosed to see or ultimately (by the end) the idea in humanizing her, but there was no balance. I felt like they ganged up on her too fast. Especially when they threw that pregnancy plot in there, that just made it even more inbalanced.
Rest in Peace Johnny Otis, Etta James, a Rhythm & Blues legend & a true artist you will be missed. -
bite_me_loser_86 — 14 years ago(February 14, 2012 09:48 AM)
Yes, excellent points! It seemed the movie wanted us to be sympathetic and understanding of Effie's former group members and her brother and for us to view Effie as this headstrong diva that needed to be taken down a couple of notches BUT something was missing. I was just pissed for most of the movie. I sat through it hoping Effie would be redeemed in the end, luckily she was.
-
Kelea7 — 14 years ago(February 14, 2012 03:20 PM)
I was just pissed for most of the movie.
I can see you now! What an image, arms crossed, sour expression on your face, head slightly tilted upward. Lol!
Rest in Peace Johnny Otis, Etta James, a Rhythm & Blues legend & a true artist you will be missed. -
EricaBrodie1977 — 14 years ago(March 15, 2012 08:41 AM)
LOl Yall crazy However I'll have to agree with Bit about Effie even though she was the voice and over bearing at times doesn't mean she derserved to be treated badly by her own bro, friends and even her man like that, I mean that was wrong wayyyyyyyyyyyyywrong on all of their parts. Cruis was suppose to be her man and sleeping with her beautiful friend Deena made it even worst.
Even though CC sent her money doesn't make up for that fact that he had really hurt his sister that suppose to be her support in this and love her, CC felt bad about what he had done even though he should after all that was his sister he had hurt. Deena also felt bad I mean really bad but the other woman what's her name that sleep with Jimmy she should of felt bad and call Effie as well.
I know that Effie was a pain at times but she had a the voice, Cruis just saw a beautiful face which wasn't Effie it was Deena, I'm sure Effie felt that she was in the wrong at times but it still doesn't excuse the fact that she was treated the way she was treated by her man, bro and her friends and all. I've thought that I was the only that felt that way that until I came here to this message board though. -
LadyN1 — 13 years ago(February 28, 2013 12:47 PM)
I agree what's being said here ie: they were wrong for turning their backs on her and Effie who was also pregnant which probably didn't help her mood much.
BUT let's remember the girls are meant to be young. Lorell mentions that she is 18 and they were all probably around the same age so they were inexperienced and naaive about how Curtis was manipulating them they just wanted to achieve their dream of being big and would do anything to get it. However as we see them when their older nearing their thirites they are more mature and have started to regret those choices that they made starting with CC and Deena.
Storywise it's part of character growth and realistically part of developing into a better human being. We all make mistakes and it;s only through age and experience we learn from them
beauty
freedom
love
truth -
tvrblue-1 — 12 years ago(June 29, 2013 10:15 PM)
I have to disagree.
Yes, Curtis was only driven by money. But if he hadn't been, none of them would've had that level of success. He made the choice to do what would make ALL of them money and it worked. When he made Deena lead singer, I don't believe they were sleeping together at that point. He may have been attracted to Deena but her actions didn't really show that they were together at that point. It happened as the group grew and Effie grew more disgruntled. The switch was purely for money because Deena's voice and looks were more commercial. It was ironic that Jennifer Hudson played that part considering that the reason she did poorly on American idol was because she wasn't commercial. It is what it is. Thankfully for Jennifer, she found her way. But commercial appeal makes money and the "best" voice isn't necessarily what sells money. That's why so many talented singers these days use autotune even though they sound MUCH better without it. So it's not that Curtis was "right morally" but he was correct in terms of what would succeed. He did it to CC later because he saw what he needed to do to thrive and did it.
To me, Effie's tantrums weren't justified. She was a diva who thought the world revolved around her and couldn't swallow the fact that the group wouldn't cross over with her as the lead. Yes, she was in a tough spot since Curtis was in charge but at the point he moved her from lead, he did still care for her. It's possible that if she had just stuck with the program, she could have tried to move on as a solo act since her place in the group was very replaceable. But she was so dramatic and pushy. She pushed them all away with her resentment. Even when she was trying to get that job singing after everything happened years later, she went in saying what she "can't" do like she was still the diva and in charge. It was just her personality and it's wasn't suited for not being the lead.
As for her brother, I don't really think he was wrong either. It's not like they kicked her out of the group to begin with. Moving her from lead is harsh but it was what they had to do to succeed. They could've removed her all together before they achieved the high success and she wouldn't have gotten the half million. She was kicked out the group because she was a liability and actually unstable. So I don't think her brother was wrong for supporting her move from lead or her removal because she was jeopardizing his career as well because of her attitude and actions.
Curtis wronged Effie. None of this is an excuse for his actions as her boyfriend. But what ultimately got Effie was the fact that she couldn't handle not being the star.
"Dwight, you ignorant slut!" -
dwellman21 — 10 years ago(June 04, 2015 11:02 PM)
Effie wasn't a bitch or anythingit was just bad, inconsistent character writing.
I mean, at the beginning she was the one (correctly) skeptical of Curtis while the other two were all bright-eyed and "Come on, this is gonna be perfect!" about him. Then later on in the movieTHEY'RE a couple?!?! Time out time out time out, where the hell did THAT come from??? When did she not only let her guard down against him, but also decided to SLEEP with him? Lorrell was the ditzy young one that was all about "lol boyzzzzz", but then all the sudden Effie is too while DEENA became the career-focused one?! That whole segment of the movie just made no sense and felt incredibly forced.
So when And I Am Telling You comes aroundI really can't feel sorry for her. In fact in context she seems pretty damn pathetic. Like, your lifelong friends ditching you, oh that only gets you so upset, but what REAAALLY hurts is that you don't want your boyfriend to leave you, huh? The boyfriend that never once did anything he promised and so easily strung you along despite the fact that devil horns were practically sprouting from his head by that point of the movie? How are you at all surprised by this again, Effie? Where are your priorities again, Effie?
So yeah, I never bought the Effie/Curtis relationship, nor did I buy that Deena would even do that to Effie. It'd be more believable if maybe she never knew that those two were a thing due to Effie not talking about it much (to keep up her tough girl skeptical appearance) and was legitimately surprised by it, but still tried to justify it because Curtis Sez it's better for the group. If I were writing this, though, I wouldn't have Curtis/Effie in a romantic relationship at
all
. Curtis is sick of having Effie stepping up to him and making him look weak, so he swoons Deena from the get-go and plant in her head that Effie's trying to upstage everyone, exaggerating Effie's diva-ish tendencies, to convince everyone to kick her out. That'd make the screwjob even more douchey, that'd make Effie hate Deena if she bought into that kind of smear campaign. Like
"Wow really Deena? You're taking his side over me? Well I guess I can't be too surprised though, I KNEW you'd be the one to ride that d***, it was always about you from Day 1 anyways, so congratulations, it's all yours now. I don't wanna be a part of this stupid group anymore anyways."
It'd still be a sympathetic freak-out if she really was screwed that badly over rumors. And you could still have the rest of her arc where she becomes self-destructive and self-loathing and convinces herself that she was wrong the whole time (even though we as the audience know she really wasn't) and yada yada the rest of the movie plays out just as is.
Sure we wouldn't have Jennifer Hudson's revered Groveling For A Man musical number, but me thinks we could sacrifice that for the betterment of the story. Either that or change the context of the song where she's lamenting the loss of her FRIENDS, not freaking Curtis.