How did the film industry get so screwed up and turned upside down that the only feeling the annual watching of the Academy Awards elicits from me is dread? Every year, three things hover on my calendar like a big black rain cloud: prostate exam, tax season, Academy Awards — and the  metaphorical similarity between all three is somewhat striking.

Obviously my career choice makes viewing the ultimate Hollywood award orgy necessary, otherwise I would return to what is my default emotion for most things: utter indifference. But how sad that it’s come to this. Going back to Johnny Carson’s hosting straight through to Billy Crystal’s, the Oscars were once one of the top three high points of the television viewing season, right after “Battle of the Network Stars” and “Dick Clark’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”

Maybe I’m the one who’s changed. Maybe the ceremony was always filled with a striking lack of class – with sanctimonious preening and political abuse hurled at me and mine. Regardless, over time those nine hours have simply gotten more and more torturous to sit through. You’re either on edge waiting to be insulted or on edge hoping one of the few movie stars you still hold some affection for doesn’t disappoint in some way. (more…)

A few solid performances are not enough to overcome a story that can only be described as porn for people who confuse wallowing in depravity with some kind of important existential statement about life, or worse, art. There’s no point to “Precious.” There might have been, but then from out of nowhere this brutally unsentimental drama serves up one last turning point (I won’t reveal), one final slap in the face of an audience who dared believe an emotional investment into a horribly abused, illiterate, obese teenage girl might actually pay off with something meaningful.   

What do you expect from a story where a baby with Down’s Syndrome is named Mongo?  

Though sixteen years of age, Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is still in middle school but not for long. After it’s discovered she’s pregnant for the second time after being raped by the same father who impregnated her the first time, school policy demands she drop out. Thankfully Dad’s no longer in the picture, but there’s still Mom (Mo’Nique) to deal with, a vicious woman willing to do anything to keep her daughter from realizing any amount of happiness, much less her hopes and dreams. (more…)

Some lives slip through the cracks, people who you might pass everyday without giving a second thought. Precious is one of those people.

Vastly overweight and carrying her second child at the far-too-young age of 16, Precious is an African-American girl living in the Bronx who’s stuck four years behind her age group in the 7th grade, with a single mother who is verbally, emotionally and physically abusive towards her. Her father is only in the picture enough to come over and rape her, which led to her first child being born with Down Syndrome, and Precious utterly unaware of proper prenatal care or even a delivery date for her second.

The only thing that brings her any sense of joy is her imagination, which Precious uses to block out horrific moments of the past and present with visions of herself on red carpets and other glamorous situations. But when a school official steps in and orders her to go to an alternative school for troubled young women, a concerned teacher, social worker and eventually a male post-natal nurse discover the extent of Precious’ problems and help her take the drastic actions needed to save her life. (more…)