Chardae Bazemore This film was powerful. Halle Berry did an excellent job and I felt the pain that Dorothy Dandridge endured. I was rooting for Dandridge as she experienced hardships and I felt her determination to succeed as I watched her become the first African-American actress nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award. They did a nice job capturing the time period and showing the strength of Dandridge as she worked hard to break down racial barriers. Brent Spiner also did a great job showing the love and admiration longtime friend and agent Earl Mills had for Dorothy. Brent and Halle's connection felt real. When I first saw the film, I was only a girl, but looking back and noticing that Shonda Rhimes was the writer, I understand why this is still one of my favorite movies.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews It's rare to find made-for-TV films that are good, or even watchable. This is one of the better, though still not a particularly good film overall. The plot is surprisingly interesting, and it mostly moves at a good pace. It takes us through Dorothy's entire life(well, mostly her adult life) and her relationships with male acquaintances, many of which turned out less than fortunate. She has a hard life, and must deal with racism throughout her entire career. The acting is above the typical level of TV-movies, but still not exactly good. It is however mostly - at the very least - acceptable. Berry gives a credible performance. Brent Spiner is surprisingly good. His character is one of the most entertaining to watch throughout the film. Many of the characters are somewhat stereotypical. The writing is at times a bit too predictable and dull, but it's mostly good enough to keep your interest, keep you watching. The film's emphasis on racism and intolerance seems underdone; we never truly see her being singled out, never experience the ignorant hatred towards her. There are just a few scenes and some vague mentions of it; and with how much her life was affected by it, I had expected the film to be all about it. The thing is, apart from these few, barely noticeable(in the film as a whole) mentions of racism, the film doesn't seem to be about it at all. It focuses more on her unsuccessful relationships with men and her attitude towards being a movie star. I'm guessing either the director didn't know what to do with the film or didn't think the racism was important enough. Either way, it leaves the film seeming more empty and flat. I recommend this to anyone interested in the story and fans of Halle Berry. Just don't expect anything more than a good TV-movie. 7/10

Nirannah Introducing Dorothy Dandridge is about Dorothy Dandridge, the first black woman ever to receive a Best Actress In A Lead Role Oscar nomination. We watch Dandridge endure multiple traumas, including sexual abuse, something quite awful happening to her daughter (I don't want to give anything away), and many bad relationships with men. This film has quite a few flaws. The set design is quite awful. Besides being unrealistic, it is much too small and enclosed for the audience to really settle into a scene. The set design also has a fakely glamorous and rather Hollywoodesque tone and feel to it. The costume design and camera-work are adequate: nothing more and nothing less. The script is rather good--something about how almost the whole film is a flashback conveys Dandridge's despair quite well--and has a cut-and-paste quality which conveys the broken-to-pieces quality of Dandridge's life. The acting is very, very good. Spiner subtly brews a cauldron of intense thought and emotion, often being able to use only his face to convey what is going on in his character's head. Brandauer gives a fleshed-out and realistic performance as the cruel Otto Preminger, and Berry gives a moving Oscar-caliber performance as Dorothy Dandridge. Even the girl who plays Dandridge's daughter, though she has a tiny role, is quite good. In the courtroom scene, she and Berry worked together to become so moving they flooded me with emotion and sympathy, something not many scenes are able to do. The film does have its weak scenes. Berry is a very bad singer and dancer: her singing and dancing is boring and lacks energy. Thankfully, most (though not all) of her singing/dancing scenes are supposed to be weak because her character is on drugs. Dandridge's audition for Carmen is another weak scene: this scene is filmed, written, and acted in a Hollwoodesque and silly way. Though Brandauer is good in this scene, Berry is not: all she does is act cute and smile. This scene was a crucial scene in the film and had the potential to be quite powerful. I was disappointed. All in all, I would definitely recommend this very good, if highly flawed, film. It's ending is subtly, insinuatingly powerful, and will definitely have an impact on you. A very good film!

preppy-3 Cable TV pic about the life of black entertainer Dorothy Dandridge. It deals with her battles with racism, a harrowing sexual assault, abusive marriages, alcoholism etc etc. I'm not sure how factual this is but, more than once, it plays like a standard Hollywood biopic...and not a good one. Everything seems muted and the impact of some of the scenes just isn't there. The only real reason to watch is Halle Berry. She doesn't look (or sound) like Dandridge but she still gives a very strong performance. Also good is Brent Spiner as her manager. However Klaus Maria Brandauer is lousy as Otto Preminger--he's so boring you wonder what Dorothy ever saw in him. So, it's worth watching for her.