“She’s got the Oscar.”

I called my roommate–who had already seen Dreamgirls–after I got out of the theatre. I was, of course, referring to Jennifer Hudson, whose performance tears a gaping hole through the screen. It’s hard to imagine her classified as a supporting actress–she steals every scene of which she is a part, even against a formidable team of Oscar winners and superstars–but I do feel pretty positive that she’ll be taking the gold on February 25.

Dreamgirls is the story of The Dreams, a Supremes-inspired group that comes to fame in 1960s Detroit. Hudson plays Effie White, the lead singer of the group in its formative days. Big-boned and brash, she has an attitude almost as large as her incredible voice. The group tries out at a black amateur night; they are bested by a B.B. King-esque blues guitarist, but are spotted by Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), a car salesman-cum-aspiring manager who sees potential for stardom in them and, more importantly, potential for money in his pocket. He also has his eye on Effie, whose steely eyes and raised chin only serve to turn him on.

The two other girls in the group are Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose, doing an admirable job of squeezing the laughs from a hugely-overshadowed role) and Deena, played by Beyoncé Knowles in an ingenious, and eerily true-to-life, casting choice. As the group becomes popular backing the singer James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy), frustration mounts within both of the new lovers, Effie and Curtis: Effie, who only signed on as a backup singer at the behest of the other girls, is tired of being in the shadows, and Curtis is not satisfied with his modest success–he wants to make STARS, artists famous not just in the black community, but worldwide.

The movie jumps into high gear when the decision is made to sever ties between the Dreamettes and Thunder, creating the new Dreams, a group aiming for the pop stratosphere. Unfortunately for Effie, the decision is also made to replace her with Deena, whose inhumanly attractive face and figure and bland, malleable voice, are exactly what Curtis thinks will push them over the top. Effie loses it, as anyone who is clearly superior to her replacement would be, but is convinced to stay in the group for the sake of the group–the scene unfortunately contains one of the cheesiest ballads in the score, “We Are Family”–and things move along in the uneventful way that promises an explosion on the horizon.

That explosion comes as Effie realizes that Curtis has not only replaced her with Deena, but has also fallen in love with her. As Effie becomes more volatile and uncooperative, Curtis decides to replace her. When she finds out, the ensuing scene–a tense 10-minute climax to the film–culminates in Effie’s earth-shattering “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” a desperate, guttural cry from a woman who realizes she has just lost everything. It leaves the hairs on your neck standing, a chilling performance that is instantly inscribed into movie history.

The second act of the movie is less successfully, in no small part due to the lessened presence of Effie, who raises her new daughter as she collects welfare, struggling to make ends meet. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Deena becomes the superstar Deena Jones, an entity who overshadows her group and becomes the target of ravenous fandom (sound familiar?). Tensions rise between her and Curtis as realizes the man in control of her life and her heart is not the same suave character she married. Curtis has become a tyrant, drunk on success; Foxx plays him well, his brow permanently furrowed and his mouth morphed into a scowl. As she loses control of her life and image, Deena finally becomes an interesting character; when she sings “Listen” in the studio, her gaze fixed intensely on Curtis, you finally feel for Beyoncé. It’s not “I’m Not Going,” but Miss Knowles shows that she, too, is a force to be reckoned with.

There is a happy ending; this is a Hollywood production, after all. Everything wraps up nicely without it feeling forced, not a trivial feat for a movie like this. I won’t give away the concluding scenes, but it’s not shocking news that Effie finally gets her due.

This is the only movie I’ve ever seen where people waited at the end of the movie to cheer at an actress’ name in the credits. I think that says it all. In a great Hollywood movie with a great cast (I didn’t even go into Murphy, who should be a lock for a Supporting Actor nomination), Hudson stands head and shoulders above them all.

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Rather than posting the trailer, which you can easily find, I’ll post a clip of Jennifer Hudson singing “I Am Changing” from the Today show. It’s not perfect–she’s a little hoarse and her timing is a little off–but realize that it’s 8 o’clock in the morning and she has, according to Matt Lauer, been screaming her head off because she just found out she was nominated for a Golden Globe.

YouTube: Jennifer Hudson “I Am Changing” (Today show)