Precious (II) (2009)

In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Director:

Lee Daniels

Writers:

Geoffrey Fletcher (screenplay), Sapphire (novel)

Stars:

Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton

Won 2 Oscars. Another 79 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabourey Sidibe	...	Precious
Mo'Nique	...	Mary
Paula Patton	...	Ms. Rain
Mariah Carey	...	Ms. Weiss
Sherri Shepherd	...	Cornrows
Lenny Kravitz	...	Nurse John
Stephanie Andujar	...	Rita
Chyna Layne	...	Rhonda
Amina Robinson	...	Jermaine
Xosha Roquemore	...	Joann
Angelic Zambrana	...	Consuelo
Aunt Dot	...	Toosie
Nealla Gordon	...	Mrs. Lichtenstein
Grace Hightower	...	Socialworker
Barret Helms	...	Tom Cruise (as Barret Isaiah Mindell)

Storyline

It's Harlem 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece Jones - who goes by her middle name Precious - is an illiterate, overweight black girl. She is pregnant with her second child, both children fathered by her biological father, who has continually raped her since she was a child, but who she doesn't see otherwise. Her infant daughter, Mongo - such named since she has Down Syndrome - lives with Precious' grandmother. Precious lives with her mother Mary, who abuses Precious both physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch television and collect welfare through fraud (as she doesn't ever look for a job) and believes that education does nothing for Precious, who she would rather also collect welfare if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious often daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious' principal transfers her into an alternative school. In dealing with the school's sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain...

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Plot Keywords:

school | money | new york | abuse | rain | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for child abuse including sexual assault, and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

ARP Sélection [fr] Lionsgate [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

20 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Precious (Base on Nol by Saf) (Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire)

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£260,921 (UK) (29 January 2010)

Gross:

$47,536,959 (USA) (5 March 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Smokewood Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mo'Nique played a character by the name of Precious in director Lee Daniels's previous film Shadowboxer.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, when Mary attempts to hit Precious with the frying pan, she has no cigarette in her mouth. However, in the next shot, she does.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Clareece 'Precious' Jones: [voiceover] My name is Clareece "Precious" Jones. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend with real nice hair. And I wanna be on the cover of a magazine. But first I wanna be in one of them BET videos. Momma said I can't dance. Plus, she said who wants to see my big ass dancing, anyhow?

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Connections

Referenced in Wedding Band: Personal Universe (2013)

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Soundtracks

"My Good Lovin"
Performed by Da Brat & Lil' Mo
Contains a Sample of "Back Like That"
Performed by Ghostface Killah featuring Ne-Yo
Written by V. Brown, Jay-Z (as Shawn C. Carter), Ghostface Killah (as Dennis David Coles), Douglas Gibbs, Ne-Yo (as Shaffer Smith), Ralph Johnson and Willie Hutch
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Contains a Sample of "Baby, Come Home" as Performed by Willie Hutch
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under License From Universal Music Enterprises
Lil' Mo Appears Courtesy of HoneyChild Entertainment Inc.
Da Brat Appears Courtesy of Throwin' Tantrums Entertainment/Rare Breed Inc.

User Reviews

Not Paris Hilton's Dog At All

This is a truly moving, patiently directed American movie the likes of which we rarely get treated to anymore. The word 'Precious' certainly does take on it's original meaning after seeing this story unfold.

Just when I think 'the movies' have lost their last bit of integrity, a movie like this comes along as though to say 'don't worry, it's still an art form'.

As for Mo'Nique... well... I wonder what she'll say in her acceptance speeches? Brava, brava, brava.

And Mariah's performance is outstanding and deeply surprising as well.

I can't recommend this film highly enough.