IN HER FIRST SCENE in the new movie “Dirty Laundry,” veteran actress Jennifer Lewis overpowers her backup church choir while singing a melodramatic gospel number during which she stretches the word “trinity” until it’s about 20 syllables long.

“I know I hit my note,” Lewis says proudly, as the rest of the choir is chastised by the conductor and told it needs more practice.

Indeed, Lewis (“Jackie’s Back”) hits her note as Aunt Lettuce, stealing almost every scene in which she appears in “Dirty Laundry.” Lewis’ screen presence is as bold and brilliant as the outfits Aunt Lettuce wears to church, and she infuses “Dirty Laundry” with a rhythm and edge it needs to be successful.

The movie, like Aunt Lettuce’s back-up choir, improves from a weak beginning and far-fetched premise to become a potentially breakthrough film that explores a peculiar dynamic of black family life with sincerity and humor. Written, directed and produced by black gay filmmaker Maurice Jamal, “Dirty Laundry” wades through heavy topics like sexual orientation and the definition of success, while featuring many scenes that are “as funny as a fat girl on roller skates.”

Rockmond Dunbar (“Soul Food,” “Prison Break”) stars as Sheldon, an accomplished but struggling New York writer who is forced to return to Paris, Ga., after receiving an unexpected anniversary gift in the form of a 10-year-old son. As a teen, Sheldon, who is gay, was apparently raped by a plus-sized girl who gave birth to their son, Gabriel, before later dying in a “freak fat stripper accident.”

Sheldon runs away from fatherhood as fast as he runs away from everything else — his hometown, his family, even his name, which was handed down to him by his father. In New York, Sheldon goes by the name “Patrick,” and replaces his shame of being gay with embarrassment and deception about his family and class background.

Originally scheduled for a Dec. 28 release in Atlanta, the film won’t arrive locally until some time in January.

FILMED IN ATLANTA, “DIRTY LAUNDRY” delves into the intolerant environment Sheldon grew up in and eventually fled from, and interrogates the views of several homophobic family members. One delicious irony is having a heterosexual actor play the role of Sheldon, while writer-director Jamal stars as Sheldon’s anti-gay brother, Eugene.

But the movie repeatedly makes the argument that the separation black gay people sometimes experience with their family is not always the family’s fault alone.

In one insightful scene, Aunt Lettuce quips to Sheldon’s sister that their family is full of “rolling stones” — an interesting juxtaposition of absentee fathers like Sheldon’s dad, with black gay men like Sheldon who disappear from their families and neighborhoods looking for better opportunities and greater acceptance.

Sheldon’s search for his identity separates him entirely from his family, and causes him to go from one form of self-loathing to another. As an adult, Sheldon is as ashamed of his mother and her careers a washwoman as he is of his nelly boyfriend — unwilling to tell either one the truth about the other.

For someone who is seeking tolerance, Sheldon casts an unhealthy amount of judgment on those around him — from their career choices, to their parenting skills, to their decision to call Paris, Ga., home. He embodies the uppity and selfish stereotype that many gay men are tagged with, so much so that the 10-year-old son often gets lost in the storyline, which centers around Sheldon.

“Sheldon always takes care of Sheldon, so I’m sure Sheldon will be fine,” Eugene says.

Part of the magic of “Dirty Laundry” is that Sheldon is not a helpless victim of homophobia, but a flawed son and brother who needs to change his views and attitudes as much as any other family member in order to bring peace to Paris.

DESPITE BEING AN INDEPENDENT FILM, “Dirty Laundry” has the potential to carry a gay-affirming message to black audiences like few movies ever have — if it can make it into, and stay in, theaters. One Harlem movie theater unexpectedly pulled the plug on “Dirty Laundry” during its opening weekend in December, and the film’s Dec. 28 opening in Atlanta was pushed back to some time in January without explanation.

Jamal also risks compromising his message by giving Sheldon a white boyfriend, Ryan, since gay being “a white thing” is one of the common stereotypes black gay people try to dispel; it’s unclear whether Sheldon’s family (and the audience) is more uncomfortable about Sheldon’s sexual orientation or Ryan’s skin color.

Thankfully, the screenplay and acting is strong enough that by the end of the film Ryan’s presence is as touching as it sometimes is awkward.

While partially set in a church, “Dirty Laundry” is not preachy, and while sexual orientation is one of the major storylines, it’s much more than a gay movie. Sheldon isn’t the only character struggling with self-acceptance, as his siblings strive for a more fulfilling life outside of Paris, and his mother yearns to be viewed as something other than a “black hole.”

But what likely makes the movie most digestible to black audiences is its cast. While none of the actors in “Dirty Laundry” is considered a headliner, almost every one has immense popularity and credibility thanks to their involvement in black cinematic gems such as “Waiting to Exhale,” “Jackie’s Back,” “Dreamgirls” and “The Queens of Comedy,” and iconic television series like “A Different World,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “The Steve Harvey Show.”

To see someone like gospel icon Bobby Jones involved with a movie that promotes accepting and understanding of black gay family members is powerful, for gay and straight audiences alike.

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