Ugly Raw… Dirty Raw… Just down right grimy raw to the core. I must be honest, when I first saw the trailer for Precious many months ago on the Oprah Winfrey show, I thought…Oh no no no! Not another depressing, black movie that’s going to portray black men in a totally negative light. After seeing the film, I felt a lot of it was truly heartening because the main character Precious wanted better for her life and pushed hard to get out of her desolate situation. But don’t get it twisted, the film isn’t a total delight to watch, there are moments when you’ll just feel so bad.

Let me just jump right into what’s going on in this story. Precious is about a teenage African American girl named Clariece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), who just frankly put, was born into poverty and hell. She can barely read. She’s abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by her lazy, mean and all-day-tv-watching mother named Mary (Mo’Nique, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins). She has a child by her own father and to make matters even worse, she’s pregnant again by….doom, doom, doom, her father. She gets kicked out of school, but for her, this is actually a good thing because she is sent to a program with a very caring teacher named Miss Rain (Paula Patton, Mirrors).

Geez, doesn’t this just sound awful and the most negative premise ever? It is, but the film was comical and had some lighthearted moments too, especially when Precious would daydream. I was cracking up. She just knew how to escape her suffering and horrific life by having grandiose dreams of walking the red carpet with paparazzi flashing her picture. Homesista was all about lights, camera, action. Precious was a doll and she was so funny. I really liked her character. Sidibe was exceptional for this to be her first time acting on a level such as this. She really knew how to jump into character. Precious’ voice is deep and hard, but Sidibe’s is upbeat and so bubbly. You must see her in an interview.

I can’t type another word without saying something about Miss Mo’nique. Oh my word! She deserves every award that’s out there for Best Supporting Actress, Best Villain, Best Worst Mom, and the list goes on. DAYUMMMM…is all I can say. She will take your last breath away with her rare performance.

Comedian who? Mo’Nique needs to be called, Best Dramatic Actress of the Decade. I just saw only her character. I didn’t see Mo’Nique. My goodness she was great. I couldn’t stand her character. I was sick every time she was on the screen. She was so messed up -- just straight jealous, mean, and evil. She embodied an evil spirit.

Paula Patton as Miss Rain was just lovely. Her acting was sweet and caring. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Heck, there needs to be more Miss Rains out there. And Mariah Carey working the plain jane look wasn’t too shabby herself. She cried at the right moments and her performance was very authentic.

Even with all the solid performances in this film, I know I don’t want to see it again. It makes you sad knowing that this stuff happens and you just wish it didn’t. I know just by me not watching the film a second time doesn’t mean that all of this trueness will go away. It will not and I know this, but sometimes I don’t want to continually ingest something that I know can break my heart in true film form. Just like I was watching something on TV dealing with how women are treated in Congo. It broke my spirit into a thousand pieces. I had to turn off the TV.

There are scenes in Precious when you’re like yes… this is good, then BAM…. Something really sad happens again. It’s a straight rollercoaster, but you’re going downhill more than up.

My Rating ~ 4 Reels

Audience Rating (What's Yours?)

Reel Talk

Warning! Reel Talk is my to-the-point comments and opinions—and it contains spoilers. Don’t read this if you plan to watch this movie!

Show me the Reel Talk!