Kingdom Come (2001)

For his first film since 1994's ''Jason's Lyric,'' McHenry has assembled a smart cross section of actors, singers, and comedians to play the Slocumb clan, relatives brought together by the death of their not so beloved patriarch. Over a sweaty hot weekend they squabble, scrap, disappoint, and forgive -- in short, do the family thing. To Fox, the movie (based on Bottrell and Jones' play ''Dearly Departed'') presented a welcome return to ensemble dramedy à la her 1997 film ''Soul Food.'' ''It's like the sequel: 'Leftovers,''' laughs the actress, who admits she had some trepidation about playing the wife of LL Cool J. ''I was like, 'Okay, a rapper -- and he's going to play a truck driver.' But he was totally into it.''

Anderson's attraction had to do with the ensemble itself. ''I come in and there's Whoopi, and LL, and Cedric the Entertainer, and Jada [Pinkett Smith] -- they're sitting in the makeup chair across from me at any given moment,'' says Anderson, who also played one of Jim Carrey's sons in last year's ''Me, Myself & Irene.'' ''I'm a borderline groupie to some of these people.''