I'd like to say this film was at least well intended, but, nah, Oprah notwithstanding, it's grossly sensational and the only three good guys, in an otherwise all black cast, are either white or can pass (one of these is a ridiculous turn by Maria Carey in a ridiculous wig). There's no plot to speak of, with plenty of pointless scenes and major events dropped from consequence once they've been used for their initial impact. Monique shows an admirable lack of vanity in playing someone so repellant, but it's not the performance of a real actress, and the lead girl, while certainly a very specific physical type, is just too deadened in her affect to center a character study.… Expand

I wanted to like it, but the clumsiness of its execution means it fails to move. The movie fails on many fronts: the "dream sequences" just confuse the plot; the characters are explored only superficially; the plot dawdles. Perhaps worst of all, the film relies on a blunt "haul on the heartstrings" approach rather than putting real effort into conveying emotion. It seems like it should be more of a touching story, but instead it is depressing violence, and left me feeling bleak, rather than uplifted.… Expand

The first 20 minutes were so bad, we left the movie. Choppy. Dull. A caricature of social consciousness.

Precious is a ham-fisted, self-indulgent soap opera that attempts to manipulate its audience with wannabee nitty-grittiness. The miserable result, however, is nothing more or less than the Jerry Springer Cosmos brought to the big screen - complete with television sets hurled at three day old babies cradled in their just-fell-down-a-flight-of-stairs sister /mother