Posterized: Jennifer Hudson
Friday, August 13, 2021 at 10:30AM by Nathaniel R
With Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic, hitting theaters today let's talk Jennifer Hudson's movie career. Well, her TV and Broadway career, too, since she's primarily a singer even when moonlighting as an actress. She's made more movies than you probably think.
How many of her performances have you seen? The posters are after the jump...
Chapter 1 - Introducing Jennifer Hudson
AMERICAN IDOL -season 3 (2004)
DREAMGIRLS (2006)
SEX AND THE CITY (2008)
Though she was ridiculously voted off of American Idol early despite that powerhouse voice (I am proud to say I was rooting for her at the time --she was the only one I was ever roused to call in and vote for), she had the last laugh. The first few years of her career proved explosive anyway. She won an Oscar for acting (Dreamgirls), was nominated for four Grammies winning one for Best R & B Album for her debut lp "Jennifer Hudson" in 2008. All that and, in what proved to be a dubiously prophetic career move, was stunt-cast in a supporting role in the blockbuster Sex and the City movie (her first non-singing acting role though she sang on the soundtrack.)
Chapter 2 - She's more of a singler, really!
WINGED CREATURES (also known as FRAGMENTS) (2008)
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES (2008)
THE THREE STOOGES (2012)
WINNIE MANDELA (2011/2013)
THE INEVITABLE DEFEAT OF MISTER & PETE (2013)
BLACK NATIVITY (2013)
Her next wave of movies didn't create excitement with only Black Nativity and The Three Stooges getting mainstream attention. Her only leading role, the biopic Winnie Mandela, failed to impress and only surfaced briefly in theaters two years after its festival bow. But her singing career and celebrity remained strong with Super Bowl and White House performances and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her second album "I Remember Me" in 2011 went Gold just like her first.
Chapter 3 - Queen of Stunt Casting
CALL ME CRAZY (2013)
SMASH season 2 (2013)
LULLABY (2014)
EMPIRE season 1 (2015)
CHI-RAQ (2015)
THE COLOR PURPLE (2015)
HAIRSPRAY LIVE (2016)
CONFIRMATION (2016)
SANDY WEXLER (2017)
MONSTER (2018)
CATS (2019)
The bulk of the past decade was spent in small supporting roles capitalizing on either her fame or that stellar voice. The best of the lot was Spike Lee's bold funny and confrontational musical Chi-Raq. Cats of course went from prestige property to Razzie flop though that can hardly be blamed on JHud! She received one Grammy nomination for the song "It's Your World" from her flop third album (though to be fair everyone's record sales had collapsed at that point in time due to streaming music becoming the norm)
She had more success as a live performer on TV's version of Hairspray and in her Broadway run in The Color Purple which netted her a second Grammy win (Best Musical Theater Album) though the bulk of the praise and the Tony wins or nominations went to her co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Danielle Brooks. She reacted to the lack of a Tony nomination with "My presence was used for my celebrity, not my talent. I'm not surprised." She later deleted the tweet. Maybe it read like sour grapes to some but we appreciated the candor and the lack of delusion!
Chapter 4- Right Now
RESPECT (2021)
In her first leading role in 10 years, Jennifer headlines the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. It's now in theaters. Reviews for her performance are kind and her voice is in spectacular form, acquitting herself well in the performance scenes just as she did in Dreamgirls. It surely helps the buzz along that Aretha Franklin reportedly approved the casting before her death in 2018. Are you seeing it this weekend?
Oscar Punditry Side-Note: While Jennifer is definitely in the Best Actress mix for now, we suspect the buzz won't last if the fall/winter films are strong. But will they be? If it's a weak fall/winter she could snag her second Oscar nomination because there's no subgenre more appealing to Oscar voters than the musician biopic, irrespective of quality; For every Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner's Daughter there's a Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Reader Comments (25)
Nathaniel: I voted for Hudson too. Her performance of Circle of Life was unforgettable. It was Barry Manilow week when she was voted off if I am remembering correctly. Her version of Weekend in New England was stunning as well. I might have shed a tear or two when she was eliminated, not gonna lie.
She could have an entire 2 1/2 hours to attempt to get it right, but JH could never equal what Aretha Franklin did in one scene for The Blues Brothers.
Final three shoulda been Fantasia, LaToya and JHud. And Fantasia (who would make a more interesting Aretha) still shoulda won.
I've seen 9 of this list. I only like her in Hairspray Live.
I miss LaKisha Jones. Different American Idol season - but her rendition of "And I Am Telling You ..." (available for viewing on YouTube) was mindblowing.
I was a big fan of hers during her Idol run also - I almost think her being my fave is what doomed her to an early elimination (my faves had a stark downward trajectory from seasons 2 thru 7) - but I've always rooted for her ever since. I hope she does get a second Oscar nomination, if only because I feel like people write off her win for Dreamgirls.
Six
I am going to see this movies. I became a fan when she was on American Idol. When she sang the Circle of life.Then the next week she sang Weekend in New England I instantly thought this girl makes me think of Jennifer Holiday from Dreamgirls. I thought she is going to be a Broadway star. Then when I heard that there was a movie version of Dreamgirls and she would play Effie. I could hardly wait to see it. When she sang the opening song Move,my mind again went to wow she reminds me of Aretha Franklin singing. Now she is playing Aretha and I can hardly wait to see it.
5 for me.
I'll never forget seeing DREAMGIRLS on Christmas Day 2006. The only time I had ever experienced spontaneous applause in the middle of a movie, after Hudson's spectacular performance of "And I'm Telling You...," of course. More rapturous applause when Hudson is introduced in the end credits. What an electric debut.
I've seen only seen two of her movies all the way through, but I've seen part of three others. Her rendition of I Know Where I've Been in Hairspray Live was a particular standout moment.
Meh, am more excited at the longshot prospect of both Matlin and Berry getting their second nominations, leaving Paltrow and Larson as the sole nomination winners since 1975. A girl can dream.
She still kills it in Dreamgirls and could sing her ass off. Plus, I'm glad she got rid of that dead weight that was her ex-fiancee who wanted to be a Meekmahan-land superstar yet for all of his physique, he ended up being nothing except work in that company's legal team as I'm now praying for that company's death as payback for the years it killed wrestlers and wrestling companies.
I had completely forgotten that Hudson's name isn't on the poster for Dreamgirls, which is certifiably INSANE.
If she can survive "Cats" she can survive anything
I think Cats is quite underrated, though?
I have to admire the bravery of Hooper and his artistic decissions, even if they didn't pay off and some failed spectacularly. It's anything but boring cinema... and to me both Les Miserables and Cats are kind of unappealling musicals on stage, but both film adaptations, I kind of like. Still, Hooper's best - and his masterpiece, so far - is The King's Speech.
She totally ruins Memory.
10. I'm surprised it's that many, but I watch a lot of bad tv.
JHud is a really mediocre actress - she has basically 2 facial expressions.
I feel bad for it, but I just don't think she is a very good actress. Incredible singer, probably in the top 1%, but she always seems to be trying too hard when it comes to acting - she is too obviously Acting with a capital A. I think Anika Noni Rose gave a much better acting performance in Dreamgirls but there was this intense media push to award Hudson due to American Idol. The first article I read about when she was cast as Effie, before filming even began was mentioning Oscar. I think it cost Eddie Murphy the Oscar he should have won as well.
Jennifer Hudson is...a good singer. That is all. She's not even someone I would consider a tremendous singer. She just isn't very interesting. Her Oscar win, in the moment that was 2006, makes sense, but in retrospect it's kind of a mess. Her big moment isn't even all that compelling honestly. It's poorly directed and shot and loses a lot of the impact due to that.
Oscar's lineup wasn't superb or anything, though, so you can't hate the win in that context. The Babel girls were leaps and bounds over anyone else, but Blanchett was lead and decent at best and Breslin was cute or whatever.
1) Kikuchi / Babel
2) Blunt / The Devil Wears Prada
3) Gedeck / The Lives of Others
4) Maura / Volver
5) Byrne / Marie Antoinette
And honestly, my top three are interchangeable sometimes.
I have seen seven of these. I think she is a fabulous singer, and I also rooted for her on American Idol. However, she is not a good actress in any way shape or form. I think her deleted quote about TCP is spot on. In specific spot roles (like the one ins Hairspray) she can bring something to the table.
Not you putting American Idol here LMAO
It pains me to see such a bad actress like JHud has an Oscar and the possibility of a second now.
Not surprised though that she has such a terrible filmography, just like any other bad winners after they triumphed.
Jennifer Hudson swept the awards that year: Oscar, Golden Globe, Sag, Bafta, even the Satellite, the latter considering that I have always thought that the Satellites vote with their own mind instead of following the favorite of the season.
It benefited from being the most obvious decision at the time. The Babel actresses were both unknown and not American. Cate Blanchett wasn't going to win a second Oscar in Supporting when they could expect an Oscar in Leading. And well Little Miss Sunshine is not The Piano.
Now the question I ask myself is: What would have happened if Meryl Streep had been promoted in Supporting for The Devil Wears Prada? I think Jennifer Hudson would not have swept so easily and maybe Meryl would have won her third Oscar that year.
Like most people I suspect, I haven't seen most of Jennifer Hudson's filmography. These appears to be very interesting projects, but I haven't tracked down the DVDs of Winged Creatures/Fragments or Lullaby nor streamed Sandy Wexler or Monster nor managed to see any of her fall 2013 releases. I didn't even catch Call Me Crazy, but did see her small screen acting debut on Smash, as well as her work in Confirmation and Hairspray Live!, and she can indeed act. Interestingly, her immediate post-Dreamgirls projects, Sex and the City and The Secret Life of Bees, seem to be in rotation on basic cable the most, and there she definitely shows she can bring heart and tenderness even when not singing (something singers don't often get enough credit for doing). I appreciate that she's getting a high profile starring role and look forward to seeing Respect at some point, but, already based on what she's put out there so far, I think she deserves a lot more credit for her acting ability than she's been given.
She shouts like a madwoman. That's not singing