“Dreamgirls,” starring Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and “American Idol” alum Jennifer Hudson may not hit theaters until December, but the movie is already receiving rave reviews. A San Diego theater recently showed a screening of the film to a private audience, and judging by the online reviews, the movie is a hit waiting to happen. “Definitely the best I’ve seen for a long, long time,” says a blogger on AintItCool.com who goes by the name of “Nightmare.” “I loved this movie, and the whole audience there went completely bananas for it. I saw the trailer probably six months ago but didn’t have a feeling one way or the other about it. I didn’t have any idea it was going to be as good as it is.”

“Dreamgirls” follows the paths of Effie White, Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson — three friends from Chicago who are a promising singing trio called The Dreamettes. Accompanied by their songwriter C.C. White (Effie’s brother), they travel to New York to compete in a talent show at the Apollo Theatre. Although the girls lose this first bid for fame, their talent attracts an ambitious manager by the name of Curtis Taylor, Jr., (played by Jamie Foxx) who uses unscrupulous tactics to move the girls from backup singers of superstar James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy) to superstars of their own.