"Dreamgirls," the film adaptation of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical, has danced off with a load of Golden Globe nominations, and two wins for Jennifer Hudson from the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle (all due to an earlier limited release). The Golden Globe nods are for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Actress (Musical or Comedy, Beyonce), Best Supporting Actress (Hudson), Best Supporting Actor (Murphy), and Best Song.

The story has the familiar sound of a black girl singing group in the 1960s; in this case they are called the Dreamettes. They make the amateur circuit in their hometown of Detroit, hoping to win contests and get noticed by the right folks. Effie White (Hudson) belts out the leads, backed up by Deena Jones (Beyoncé) and Lorrell Robinson (Rose).

Better than most but still without total star quality, the group’s potential is recognized by music promoter Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Foxx).

He hires them as backup singers for soulful, rhythm and blues powerhouse, James "Thunder" Early (Murphy).

Curtis begins a flirtatious affair with the brash diva, Effie, who enjoys her up front role. She also falls in love with Curtis, whose charming guile tells us that he has his eyes on a bigger prize. And nothing will get in his way.

It’s the era of race music, where white groups usurp popular black artists and "cover" (re-do) the songs for white record buyers. Pay for play is in its heyday, to get any music played on the radio. But Curtis sees it all coming together, as crossover. He puts his money where his mouth is by selling a lucrative car business to get in the game.

Curtis makes his move by changing the group’s name to the Dreams, and repositioning Deena from the background to lead singer. Effie is undone, which prompts her show stopping, and heart wrenching, performance of "And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going," on a darkened stage, in an empty theater. Even in a movie theater, you want to stand and applaud.

The rest of the group’s success is show biz history (though we’re not to confuse the Dreams with the Supremes). What this film does beautifully is capture the heartache that fame sometimes brings in its wake. The joy and torment is expressed in song but these singers have acting chops as well. Listen to Beyoncé’s "Listen," and Jennifer Hudson"s "I Am Changing." The same can be said for those that we know primarily as actors, who vocalize their emotions right on key (especially Eddie Murphy, in a knock out performance).

Sure to be in the top five on most best of the year lists, this is must see entertainment for the holiday season.