The Wood Award – Beyonce – Dreamgirls

The Wood Award is a category that recognizes performers for their wooden performances in a scene.  In this category we will be examining probably laughing at or making fun of scenes that are noteworthy because they are terribly poorly acted.

I was having a conversation with a friend and we agreed on a scene that was particularly funny and poorly acted.  I had a Halle Barry scene I was going to feature to start this category but we’ll go with Bey.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present our girl, Bey… in Dreamgirls (Chapter 13 on the DVD)

This is the scene where she’s watching the movie and smoking a cigarette.

In the scene, Beyonce is viewing a film presentation which includes some wedding footage.  Further along on the footage, she sees that it has been dictated that she accept a role (one she doesn’t want) in the film, “Cleopatra.”   It hits her.  Her spouse sees her as merely a commodity and controls all her professional movements.  At this point, Beyonce’s character is supposed to be emotional and upset about this. 

What was wrong with that two minute scene?

Body Language
Wooden

“Disappointed Reaction” to “Cleopatra”
Wooden

Cigarette Smoking
Wooden

She never actually inhales the cigarette.  (When an actor does this, he or she is lying to the audience).

The shot opens with Beyonce’s hand holding a burning cigarette; one which just left her lips.  We then see her exhale the cigarette smoke through her mouth.  It was obvious she wasn’t smoking the cigarette.  It could have been faked better, I suppose.  For the rest of the scene, she’s just holding the cigarette, not smoking it anymore.

There is something lacking in the scene; realism.  She’s not believable as a smoker.  She is desperately trying to make the scene real.  Everything from the cigarette smoking to the facial expressions is forced.

Yet there is something strangely humorous about it.  It shouldn’t be funny because Beyonce clearly tries.  But she fails.  There’s just something comical about it.  I’m not saying I’m glad that Beyonce was unable to nail the scene.  I’m just suggesting that the result was comical on some level.

What do I mean by wooden?  I mean this: 
I mean what thesaurus.com means:

stiff, awkward
without spirit, animation or awareness

Though Beyonce is a wonderful and talented performer… she is, nonetheless, the recipient of the Wood Award for this scene.

Is it me or at the end of that scene – didn’t that look like her sister, Solange?

Ain’t nobody hatin’ on Bey.  I like Beyonce.  :) 

In many ways, Beyonce is magnificence personified.    

    

Comments

[Kimi]

Love the Wood Awards & ITA w/this post! Let me say before I continue, I love Beyonce too, she is definitely doing her thang & I hope she continues to do so, I am definitely a fan & supporter.

BUT ... Not only was that particular scene poorly executed on her part, but also on the director's part for a couple reasons.

#1 - I believe that was the ONLY scene which showed B smoking during the entire flick & it was unbelievable, so why even go there at all?

#2 - (& I may be reading into things a bit here) what kinda effed up subtle, subliminal messages are we sending to kids (plenty saw this flick), that being grown is synonymous with smoking?

I think if Beyonce didn't have a decent actor(s) playing opposite her (mostly Jamie Foxx) she may have looked worse.

Overall tho, I enjoyed B in Dreamgirls. I think she knows her limitations & chooses roles that aren't too farfetched for her acting abilities.

I heard she is going to play the lead in Disney's Aida on the big screen. That will be really interesting to see cuz I saw the play 3x on Broadway (twice starring Heather Headley who was EXCELLENT in the lead role & once starring Toni Braxton, who also did a great job) & that storyline definitely demands some acting ability IMHO.

Sorry so long! I can't wait to read the Halle Berry scene you are talking about.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Kimi

#1. Yes. This is true, isn't it. Good point you make. Thanks for pointing this out, Kimi. Maybe they figured they needed to give her a "prop" to help her "be upset."

#2. I see your point here, Kimi. I'm not in total agreement. I think there is a place for smoking in movies -- even movies intended for children to see. (I don't mean G-rated or kiddie movies). I think they're moving away from that and we'll prolly be seeing less and maybe no cigarette smoking in films.

No need to apologize to me or readers for the length your comment. Feel free here, Kimi, to speak. I sure do. LOL.

I thought B was a'ight in the film. I think she needs some voice training (pitch, inflection, etc.) and they need to tell her what to do with her eyes. They seem to always be popped open and staring.

I'm rambling. Oops.

[LaJane Galt]

hahahaha don't try to put those qualifiers in there!!

I don't mind the smoking, cause..well people DO smoke. To me, the smoke in that scene looked like the blunt smoke in a bad video.

Frankly, I don't remember how wooden that scene was b/c I couldn't take much more than the backwards wig (as depicted by your picture).

[Jackie]

I agree we shouldn't have smoking in film because kids do look at what they see and want to be like adults, however, wasn't smoking pervasive in the era in which the story took place?

She's such a talent, but the eye thing is an interesting comment. They do seem to always be popping. I'm just wondering if the performance was truly her own, or if the director dictated more than any of us would have liked.

I love your blog! and I love the wood awards!

[theblackactor.com]

@ LaJane

LOL. You know, at times it was a bit hard to watch her. :)

@ Jackie

You got a point there. Maybe if she would have been directed "differently," the outcome woulda been different. True. And thank you for the kind words, Jackie. :) The Wood Award popped into my head last night. LOL.

[Angela]

You didn't mention her incredibly and unintentionally funny cursing snippet.

I think she needs to leave the acting thing alone because she just doesn't have it in her to dig deep and be real and natural. If she sounds stilted and false in TV interviews, it's a given that in an acting gig, she has no depth.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Angela

LOL - cursing snippet. I agree with you - no depth.

[stacey]

I agree with you on her acting...if she wants to keep on this road she should invest in some acting classes and get a coach.

Also, about the smoking...did you ever see her video 'suga mama'? In the very first scene she is smoking a cigar and it looked real to me. I am not a smoker so I could be wrong. I would like someone to look at that video and let me know what you think.

She probably smokes and drinks (recall the pics of her with Jay, drunk as a skunk, lol) in "real" life but she likes to portray an image of "good girl". If she is too be taken seriously she should drop this "good girl" image and just be the great woman that she is. People have real lives and she is no different. I think if she does this plus gets with an acting coach we may see more depth in her work.

~S~

[theblackactor.com]

@ Stacey

No. I didn't see the video. :(

I agree. Just be real -- and getting a coach wouldn't hurt. You're right. Maybe one day I can find that video on YouTube or something.

[stacey]

Here is the link for that video. She drags and then blows the smoke. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riE0N0yJBgU

~S~

[Aulelia]

What a great range of comments. I have to say, B surprised me in Dreamgirls. She is not an Angela Bassett by ANY MEANS LOL but i think she was trying hard. That scene when she was smoking is completely annoying because there is no need for her to be smoking. But I think she acted well in the scene with John Lithgow (the guy from 3rd Rock), it seemed slightly more real there. I think B works better when given slighty more to work on cos it lets the audience see whether she actually have acting range. She is an entertainer. Acting as one on screen shouldn't be technically hard for her and during the singing and dancing scenes, it is impossible to take your eyes off her (for me LOL) BUT she does come off wooden when she plays the sickly sweet parts, esp. when the affair with Jamie Foxx comes out in the film.

Doesn't she say something like "I want to have your child" when they are kissing? That really annoyed me cos she was wooden there...but like I said, she can be strong in parts.

Lol, this rant is all over the place. But good post :)

[theblackactor.com]

Thank you, Stacey.

I tried the link last night but couldn't get it to work. I'll fool around with it today. If I get it to work, I'll come back to this comment.

And thank you for sending it! :)

[theblackactor.com]

Okay, Stacey.

I was finally able to view it! I suppose Bey smokes her cigar capably in the opening moments of the video. There was some notable mouth movement - but I suppose there was a reason for that. Maybe it was to add to the coolness of the shot. Or maybe that's what cigar smokers do. Or maybe that's what she was told to do.

LOL

Thanks for sharing, Stacey.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Aulelia

Thank you, Aulelia. And you raise some good points!

"But I think she acted well in the scene with John Lithgow"

This Lithgow scene -- I seem to remember not liking her in this scene. I seem to remember her eyes being too wide open. I seem to remember she looked almost as if she were staring or something. For an actor, eyes are everything. Use of eyes makes all the difference. It does. But what I am certain of about that scene is that she cussed. I thought her utterance of the cuss word -- was it fuckin'? -- I don't remember -- I thought it sounded kinda fake. I'll revisit that scene Aulelia.

"Doesn't she say something like "I want to have your child" when they are kissing? That really annoyed me cos she was wooden there."

Girl, I thought the same thing. LOL.

BTW - I love it when you rant. :)

[LaJane Galt]

as an ex-smoker: you inhale cigarette smoke; you generally just savor the taste of cigars through puffing. Good cigars are yummy btw.