Clarice Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is overweight, illiterate and pregnant with her second child while growing up in Harlem. Her mother (Academy Award winner Mo’Nique) abuses her and Precious is plagued with images of her father raping her. She’s invited to another school after she is kicked out of her junior high school and begins to hope for a new alternative to her life.

The movie starts off strong but quickly deteriorates into just another Lifetime movie. The direction is amateurish and choppy while the editing is shoddy. Characters are introduced and start to have a significant difference then are never heard from again. The ending is weak and improbable with no real resolution to any of Precious’ problems. Grade: C-

–Alison Percich, The Patriot Press