Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

It was only after the ballyhoo behind Precious that I considered viewing it. After suffering through this superficial drama I will call it what it is—a disappointment. Despite a film that contains a great cast, there is no resonance or depth of character.

Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is an obese, very black high school student who abused by her vicious mother (Mo’Nique) and is pregnant for the second time by her father. How the girl copes isn’t entirely clear. This viewer is assuming the fantasy sequences are her escapism. As Precious tries to survive her poor self image and her surrounds, the viewer is left to determine how to respond to they see.

I responded with amazement that this film has been heralded. Precious is a one-trick pony; that trick is stereotypical. I don’t understand how anyone could find this anything but demeaning. The characters unfold here into caricatures of black people. And when the sympathy card is finally played, this viewer wanted to spit, not cry.

As I see it, Precious shocks but not in the way the director intends. I’m shocked this mess-terpiece was bankrolled by Oprah. Rape, incest, abuse, AIDS, poverty, welfare—all valid themes and not just in the black community—are shown here in a wash of Hollywood pseudo-ignorance peppered with hateful language. It’s disgusting.