precious, scary mo'nique

0 Comments | The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Nov 4, 2009 | by ROGER MOORE

By Roger Moore

The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel

The reviews are so gushy, they'd have to go straight to your head. For the comic actress Mo'Nique, the movie "Precious" has become that once-in-a-lifetime star turn that can change a career.

Mo'Nique plays Mary, the monstrous mother of the obese, abused and pregnant teen Precious in the film that opens Friday.

Mo'Nique gives "an electrifying, positively Oscar-worthy performance," Rex Reed wrote in The New York Observer.

And the phone is ringing for the big, sassy and proud actress born Monique Imes, who became so singular a talent that she's been able to go by Mo'Nique for her entire professional career.

"My phone is ringing, but you know what?" she said. "They're not calling me to offer me parts. They're calling me for auditions! Me! "

For years, she has made a name in stand-up comedy, on stage, on TV and in books ("Skinny Women Are Evil") and stealing scenes from under the likes of Martin Lawrence ("Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins") and Keira Knightley ("Domino").

Now, at 41, Mo'Nique has moved front and center by delivering a horror-movie-worthy performance in the middle of an intimate tragedy of poverty and lovelessness.

"Wait a minute - do I scare you, baby?" she asked. "My comedies are supposed to be funny! Which ones have you come out of scared? Ain't nobody supposed to be scared of me except for skinny women!"

Mo'Nique started her working life as a phone sex operator, drifted into comedy and has never looked back. She'd worked with "Precious" director Lee Daniels, coincidentally playing a character named Precious in his earlier flop "Shadowboxer."

But when he called this time, "I jumped. Didn't have to think for a second, because this woman? I know her."

And Daniels didn't make her audition.

Her research?

"I didn't have to do research," she said. "I was abused by my older brother, and my parents didn't really believe me either, just like in this movie. I don't know why. Why would I lie about that?"

Essence magazine reported that this brother was later sent to prison for 15 years for sex crimes with another girl.

For the role, Mo'Nique relied on her own life for research.

" I know Mary," she said. "She's seen what's going on, or she's aware of it. She's not turning a blind eye. She's mentally ill. She blames the victim. You see, that's why I think she's scary. "

"Precious" is an indie film that Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry have joined as producers to ensure that the public sees it , Mo'Nique said.

"This movie is about how long we've gone without looking at poverty," she said. "This happens in America, baby, and poor people don't go away just because you pretend you don't see them."