nlike many pop stars turned actresses, Beyoncé Knowles made her feature debut in a film that was not built around her vocal ability.

  Sure she belted out one tune as Foxxy Cleopatra in Austin Powers in Goldmember, but there was more to the role than just singing.

  This time out Knowles combines both her musical and acting talent in The Fighting Temptations opposite Cuba Gooding Jr. and directed by Jonathan Lynn (The Whole Nine Yards, My Cousin Vinny).

  When slick-talking advertising executive Darrin Fox (Gooding Jr.) travels from New York City back to his hometown in Georgia to claim an inheritance from his wealthy aunt, he discovers there's a hitch - a big one. In order to collect, Fox must lead the local gospel choir to the championship of the annual Gospel Explosion competition.

  Desperate for the cash, he embarks on the nearly impossible challenge of turning a choir of parishioners into a gospel group. His search takes him from the county jail to the barbershop to
actors
Beyoncé Knowles
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Mike Epps
Faith Evans
Steve Harvey

director
Jonathan Lynn

 locations
 Georgia
outtake
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was originally slated to
play Darrin Fox. The character was to be a record producer but when Gooding Jr. got the part, it was changed to an advertising executive.

a local club where he discovers Lilly, a singer with a voice like satin that just might be the answer to his prayers.

  "I had a wonderful time playing Lilly," Knowles said of her character. "She is very earthy. She is very warm. And she doesn't like hypocrites. Basically, she's been judged because she has a son. She's not married and it's a small town.

  "She sings in a jazz club. She was in a church choir and that's like the big thing in this little small town, but they kicked her out because they think she's like a heathen (laughs). Then she meets Darrin and he convinces her to get back in the choir."

  Oscar-winner Gooding Jr. was suitably impressed with his co-star. "She's actually kicking butt in this movie," he told MTV.com. "She's really got such a natural ability to just say the lines and bring realism to the dialogue. And no one's seen her before like (they will) see her in our movie. I mean, you've seen her in the commercials, you've seen her in the Austin Powers movie ... but she's got to deal with a little bit of emotion in our picture."

  For Knowles, the treat was singing music "that I wouldn't normally do as Beyoncé or Destiny's Child. I'm doing serious old-school hymns."

  In addition to Knowles, the film is bursting with powerful music from Faith Evans, Melba Moore, T-Bone, Zane Copeland Jr., Angie Stone, Montell Jordan and the O'Jays.

- Robin Stevenson