Review of Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009) by Mayra C — 06 Jan 2012

"F for Fat." Precious is at that point in between bad and alright. While heavily flawed in several ways, it also packs plenty of emotional scenes and performances. Gabourey Sidibie plays the title role as Precious, a grotesquely rotund 16-year-old who was raped by her father and gave birth to their daughter who has Down syndrome.

Yes, that sentence sounds ridiculous and the contents of the film are even more so. Mo'Nique plays her physically and sexually abusive mother. Her character shows plenty of what she is composed of: fatty acids.

She is a completely useless, obese woman who eats away at her daughter. Paula Patton plays Ms. Rain, Precious' lesbian teacher and Mariah Carey (an odd but effective casting choice) plays Mrs. Weiss, a social worker.

All of these performances are fantastic, and that is pretty much the only good thing about the film. There are some emotionally heartbreaking scenes that only work because the acting is just that good.

We often see Mo'Nique throwing glass objects and pans at Precious' head, and then there's a brawl. While none of these scenes are supposed to be funny, I couldn't help but laugh while watching these two circular low-lives dish it out.

Precious greatly succeeds in the acting department, but when it comes to writing, it ultimately failed to captivate me due to its off-putting, unintentional hilarity.