Story Line: Cuba plays Darrin Hill, a New York Jr. advertising executive born in Montecarlo, Georgia. Darrin is the type of guy who is determined to get to the top, & he's going to lie every step of the way there. He's the kind of guy who has 6 or 7 credit cards & uses them to cover the balances on each other. He lies about his background, his social status & his education. It's because of such practices that he got kicked out of Yale for lying on his transcripts & then later in life loses his job for getting kicked out of Yale for lying on his transcripts. At this point he's called back down home to Georgia for the reading of his late aunt's will.

While there, he learns that if he leads his old church choir to a regional gospel choir competition, he could stand to inherit over 100 thousand dollars! Darrin's late Aunt Sally Walker is the kind of woman who is almost like an icon in a small town like Montecarlo. She looks out for the children, gives help whenever it's needed & will always defend her family, ferociously if need be. While she never told her friends exactly what her nephew did for a living in New York (because he never bothered to contact her to tell her), she always made it a point to emphasize he was a big shot. So with the task of leading a choir dropped in his lap, Darrin decides to tell everyone that he was a big time record producer. Things get interesting as he tries to conduct the small, off-key choir as well as bring in MUCH needed new members, including Lilly (Beyonce), a sexy, popular singer at the local bar, and a childhood friend of Darrin. Darrin is determined to lead them to the "Gospel Explosion" in Macon, GA.

Tell Me More: For the most part, I don't like Cuba Gooding Jr. as an actor. I firmly believe that if he had not been in "Jerry Maguire," opposite Tom Cruise, he would have never won an Oscar. In his defense though, I have to say he does have talent. He possesses great comedic timing & is capable of good physical humor, but he just overdoes it to the point where it annoys me sometimes. My belief is that great actors make it look effortless, while Cuba has effort oozing out his pores!

But this movie isn't really about acting as much as it's about heart & music, similar to the first "Sister Act" movie. The music in this film is great, for all the gospel fans out there this is a must see, and the heart of this movie is as warm as the country sun it was filmed in. Beyonce is no Jennifer Lopez when it comes to acting, (J.Lo is no Beyonce when it comes to singing either), but she can pass & most of the supporting roles were well done. An overall enjoyable film.

Cuba Gooding Jr.: "Psychic," "Boat Trip," "Snow Dogs"	Beyonce Knowles: "Austin Powers in Goldmember," "Carmen, A Hip Hopera"
Steve Harvey: "The Kings of Comedy"	Faith Evans: "Turn it Up"
Mike Epps: "Friday After Next," "All About the Benjamins," "How High"	Directed by Jonathan Lynn: "The Whole Nine Yards," "Trial & Error," "Sgt. Bilko"

Cuba Gooding Jr.: Darrin Hill	Beyonce Knowles: Lilly
Steve Harvey: Miles Smoke	Faith Evans: Maryann Hill
Mike Epps: Lucius	Directed by Jonathan Lynn