Other than a few items glanced at in the newspaper, I had no idea the intricate details of this movie, and went in hoping for something different. Alas, the first hour was not much of anything at all. And I wonder if the movie would have done so well if not for the purse strings and names of 2 of its executive producers. That aside, the story revolves around a 16-year-old living in Harlem in the 1970s. She is pregnant, for the 2nd time, by her father. Her mother is one in a long line of selfish, self-absorbed ignorant people, and played, by the way perfectly, by Mo'Nique. The last scene with Mo'Nique makes sitting through this boring film worth it. And yes, it was boring. But what frustrated me the most is that when actors are mumbling, as more and more are doing in movies, there is too much background noise (music in this movie), so it's difficult to understand what the character is saying. This was a major problem for me with this film. I would have so loved to hear what Precious was saying, in her own way, but she mumbled, talked street while also mumbling, and a lot of it was just drowned out. Just the same, I was ready to turn the movie off, but decided to stick it out. After the 1st hour it began to move as something was actually happening, and get more interesting until the somewhat climax at the end in the social worker's office (played okay by Carey). Yes, people lived like this, and still do. Children are abused, and in so many ways. The system can only do so much. And there are people who try to cheat the system, as the mother kept trying to do. Not as much drama as hyped, and some of the acting seemed forced. Did I miss something?