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Though "inspiring" in an Oprah Book Club kind of way, what's most impressive about Precious is that it's not unintentionally hilarious, which it had the potential to be.

The premise is extreme bordering on outlandish, throwing all kinds of harrowing conditions on Precious in absence of character work. There's a variation of schadenfreude at play—substitute laughs for sobs. It's just too designer-made to satisfy our morbid curiosity, too tearjerky with little else to go on.

This is a capsule review for a film festival. We'll have a full review of the film on opening day.

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Precious opened the Mill Valley Film Festival, and will be on limited released in US theaters on November 6.

MVFF page

Running time: 109
Country: US
Category: US Cinema
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Producers: Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness
Screenwriter: Geoffrey Fletcher
Cinematographer: Andrew Dunn
Editor: Joe Klotz
Cast: Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz, Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe