Precious tells the story of an older teenage girl growing up in a verbally and sexually abuse home on public assistance as defeats the odds of poverty, low self esteem, poor health, and bad education to make a new life on her own. The film is based on the black literature novel titled Push. Like many other black literature novels, Push does not display the best of black American writing or illustrate the complex diversity of the true black American experience, as one would find in the works of James Baldwin or Zora Neal Hurston, but Push does succeed in developing a fine story line fit for a spectacular film.Much of the initial talk around Precious came first from gossip corners and entertainment news outlets drumming up word the Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry had both invested substantial funds in helping to produce this film. Then there were talks about tiffs between Tyler Perry and Spike Lee, who believed that the Madea star should do more with his influence in the black community to bring about constructive socio-political reform through his work. Talk also surrounded Precious headliner Mo’nique, who people claimed had been so headstrong during the film’s production that she fired her staff, leaving only her husband to facilitate her affairs. It was also said that Mo’nique refused to promote the film by doing television interviews (though the cast was invited to Mo’nique’s own late-night show) because she could not be certain that the film would make any money or that she would be paid handsomely enough.
Why anyone would doubt the success of Precious is truly beyond me. The film is superbly acted and directed and features a star-studded cast in roles that are less than beautiful. Take, for example, singer Mariah Carey, who starred in the film as a social worker. She was not glamorous. She wore average, right-sized clothes that did not hug her shape. Her hair was down and looked unkempt. Her voice was raspy. Her lady moustache showed. Yet, despite all this, or perhaps because of it, she was truly believable as a case worker in a large unknown urban American city. She walked and talked like the haggard case workers you would expect in those towns who day after day see abused children, abused spouses, and those who abuse the welfare system because they don’t want to work.
Precious has so many layers of goodness that it’s difficult to point out just one reason to go see it. If it is not for the academy award-winning caliber of the acting, then certainly let it be for the story line. If is not for the story line, then let it be for the soundtrack. If not for the soundtrack, then see it just to support the fine work and art of a talented cast. While it is true that the cast is black and that the story is told through the black experience, none of this should overshadow the fact that Precious is a just a truly good film. Go see it. I give it my highest endorsement.
*****
Other Mo'nique Movie's You'll Love
, a film starring Nicholas Cage, Don Cheadle, and Tea Leoni. The main character in this film made certain choices in the early days of his life (as did Scrooge), and his decisions have led him to a prosperous yet unfulfilling life. In one instant, the character makes a pivotal choice and this causes him to be visited by a ghost that shows him what his life would have been like had he made different decisions (this twist is different from A Christmas Carol where Scrooge is visited by 3 ghosts who show him what the effects of his life would have been had he continued along the same path).