comment #1

Mike Ock says ...

Hey Jeff, I agree. She should not only cut her vacation short, but cancel the taping of her show, wear an Aunt Jemima outfit, with matching tap dance shoes to the awards ceremony, and then break into a tap dance on stage in the middle of her acceptance speech.

Would that make you happy?

Alot of good it did Cuba Gooding Jr. at the Oscars the year he won, huh?

comment #2

Bob Violence says ...

Hey guys I hear Mo'Nique is pretty fat

comment #3

cinefan says ...

"If Mo'Nique had any respect for the NYFCC she would cut short her vacation by a day or so and haul her lard ass up to Manhattan on the 11th. It's 12.19 today -- she's got over three weeks to figure this out."

At least now we know the main reason why Wells doesn't want her to win an Oscar - her obesity. If she were a white male with a healthy body mass index who also played a villain with panache, then it would be perfectly okay to miss the NYFCC award ceremony.

comment #4

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

Or maybe she just doesn't care about awards, like good actors shouldn't. The performance matters. The end. She's not running for Miss Congeniality.

I wouldn't go to any award shows if I were an actor either. Unless it's nationally televised, who gives a shit about what I have to say in my speech? Just send it in the mail, and I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit. People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.

comment #5

Gordon27 says ...

"She's not attending the NYFCC ceremony because she doesn't care to -- end of story."

Yeah, that's the end of the story! Oh, wait, three more paragraphs of bitter bile, and then the end of the story! Until the next post about Mo'Nique and how her apathy towards the awards process insults everybody in the film industry!

comment #6

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

Oh, and I heard Jeff Bridges doesn't like black people. Now he's not the Best Actor anymore!

comment #7

btwnproductions says ...

I'd love for Mo'Nique to attend and bitch-slap Armond White. "Take this for PRECIOUS...and take that for AVATAR...now go and GET ME MY CIGARETTES!"

comment #8

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

To recap... family vacations, BOOO! Accepting awards from regional critics associations, A MUST.

comment #9

Gordon27 says ...

"To recap... family vacations, BOOO!"

Yeah, in other words, Jeff criticizes her for playing a bad mother in a movie, and criticizes her for not being a bad mother in real life.

comment #10

Bob Violence says ...

I just want to make it clear that picture was not there when I made my post, Jeff obviously added it to ruin my brilliant riposte

comment #11

Jeffrey Wells says ...

The New York Film Critics selections are a major bellwether of the state of any given film year. To call the NYFCC just another regional critics group is simply asinine. And the point of my post wasn't to make fun of family vacations, but to point out that if Mo'Nique wanted to attend the NYFCC event she could easily manage that. She simply choose not to, obviously.

And yet some of you in the back seat with the spitballs are trying to hang it on me -- like I'm the guy with the attitude problem and not her. Amazing. You're really delusional, honestly.

Remember one thing, Academy members -- not voting for Mo'Nique means that you're a closet racist. Understood?

Make no mistake -- the little bitches who responded to my post represent the thinking out there. They and others like them will swoop down on you faster than hawks if your vote becomes known. The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades.

An obnoxious disingenuous ding-dong gets to say anything she wants and diss the awards process as much as she wants and she's totally cool and a wonderful actress....hallelujah! And if anyone calls her what she is and her attitude what it is, they're racist swine, sitting on a rocking chair on an old front porch with some chewin' tobacco and a shotgun. And that goes for anyone who believes that someone else (Vera Farmiga, perhaps?) gave a more worthy performance.

That said, btwnproductions' comment is pretty funny.

comment #12

DetectiveMills says ...

The "haul her lard ass" line may just be the best line of the decade, if we are making "Best Of" lists. No, I'm not making fun of her physique. But the way Mr. Wells just says it out of the blue made me spit my Vanilla Coke all over my new HD Monitor.

Love how brutally honest he is...no filter. Love it.

comment #13

sumo-pop says ...

For the love of god, the sake of Pete and fuck, will you give it a rest? We got it. You hate her and wish she would slip and fall. Next please.

comment #14

Colin says ...

Make no mistake -- the little bitches who responded to my post represent the thinking out there - Wells

Wow. If any of the voting body represent half of Well's anger this movie is fucked come Oscar time.

comment #15

actionman says ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIoCHuG2pBw

comment #16

Wiggumx says ...

"she would cut short her vacation by a day or so and haul her lard ass up to Manhattan"

"Make no mistake -- the little bitches who responded to my post represent the thinking out there"

I'm normally on your side, but you've gone way too far. You have serious fucking problems. You hate fat people, hate Monique, hate anyone who doesn't agree with you, hate your readers. You need to think about why you do all of these things.

comment #17

mrmystery says ...

Remember one thing, Academy members -- not voting for Mo'Nique means that you're a closet racist. Understood?

Uh, Jeff, how do you think we got stuck with President Wee Wee? You were fine with that. Although, he is a lean machine as opposed to lard ass. Guess we know your priorities. If Jesus H. Christ had a gut, you'd be running for nails.

comment #18

Terry McCarty says ...

We've forgotten George C. Scott, who called the Academy Awards "a two-hour meat parade"--but got one for PATTON anyway.

comment #19

LarryGopnik says ...

"Remember one thing, Academy members -- not voting for Mo'Nique means that you're a closet racist. Understood?"

Um, dude. People don't think you're racist because you're on the irrational anti-Mo'Nique train.

People think you're racist because you've said dozens of unconscionably racist things in the past AND now you're posting daily posts on how an actress (who happens to be black) doesn't deserve to win an Oscar, an honor you last devoted to... Eddie Murphy, another black actor.

Could it be coincidence? Sure. But you can't unsay all the racist things you've said in the last few years. Sometimes people can put 2 and 2 together.

comment #20

corey3rd says ...

far as her lard ass goes, the woman has hosted:

Mo'Nique's Fat Chance

maybe she's upset for not winning for beerfest

at least Armond White won;t have to chit chat with her

comment #21

Charlie Meadows says ...

Jeff, you've got to stop this stupid "take down Monique" madness. I know, I'd like Vera Farmiga to win too (and throw in my two cents for Zoe Saldana in Avatar). But when you keep continually bashing her, and then saying you're not racist, it really reflects badly on you.

If you truly don't care about what other people's perception of you is, then by all means continue to bash Monique. But if people keep calling you racist for doing it, then you have no one to blame but yourself.

comment #22

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Wells to Wiggumx: I don't hate HE readers or hate people who disagree with my thinking. I do, however, despise the white-guilt herd thinking that is behind the support of "Precious" and Mo'Nique's performance.

All Mo'Nique comments & criticisms are coded and calibrated through the filter of white guilt. You can't play it plain and straight when it comes to discussing her because it is quietly assumed that you're some kind of subconscious cracker if you diss her, and if you embrace her and say she's got her priorities straight then you're an extra-nice person who hasn't a shred of racism in his/her heart or soul.

"Precious" is a white-guilt Oscar contender, and Mo'Nique will be Oscar-nominated because she's riding the white guilt train along with Lee Daniels and Lionsgate and Oprah Winfrey and all the others.

It's enjoying awards attention not because it's a knockout of a movie -- it's not --but because it's about light-skinned black people trying to heal home-grown evil in their own community, which of course is an action that white liberals approve of (which they should). It's a good film in some ways, but it also happens to be a middling mediocre film with patty-cake elements. It shows a big heart toward the end, and that's also the white-guilt element -- it makes us all feel good to know that we share the same emotions in our hearts. But also because we're big-of-heart enough to feel compassion and extend a symbolic embrace of poor, suffering, welfare-subsisting black folk in late 1980s Harlem.

I've said this before, but if "Precious" was about a white-trash cracker mom in Alabama or Mississippi having abused her daughter all kinds of ways but particularly by allowing her AIDS-afflicted husband to rape and impregnate her twice, no one would have begun to talk about "Precious" being an awards contender because critics wouldn't have given it the time of day, and it probably wouldn't have found distribution.

But "Precious" is an African-American movie so it's doing just fine. It's enjoying all the awards attention because of its theme of caring and compassion in the African-American community. The awards action isn't solely about the movie, and in fact it may be mostly about us -- i.e., the liberal whites.

comment #23

btwnproductions says ...

Mo'Nique is this year's Eddie Murphy in terms of gratitude re: her awards wins. I have no problem with her performance in the film (have the people responding actually seen it--the film seems to be losing altitude--or are they just responding to the tone of this post?) but I haven't seen much of her competition yet.

"Get me my cigarettes!" should be the "Get off my lawn!" of 2009.

comment #24

Colin says ...

So Precious = African-America version of Hounddog?

comment #25

bfm says ...

It does seem ungracious of her, which is reinforced by her lame excuse. Maybe it's just not reported, but she doesn't come across as being grateful for the award or regretful that she can't attend. At the very least, it's a case of bad manners.

If only she'd said something along the lines of: "Mo'Nique is immensely grateful for this award from a highly respected film critics circle. To her regret, a long-standing family commitment means that she is unable to attend the ceremony".

comment #26

Gordon27 says ...

"an honor you last devoted to... Eddie Murphy, another black actor. "

Larry - that's not true. First off, Murphy got way less, but that's maybe just an opinion. But the fact is, Jeff went after Amy Ryan as hard as Mo'Nique, and that was post-Murphy, and to be fair and honest, it must be pointed out that he said basically the same problems (he didn't like the sheep, and he didn't like that she was such an overly shitty mom).

I think the worst you can say about Jeff as far as racism is that he's like your old liberal uncle who was once progressive and still feels like he is, and doesn't hate "black people" at all and think they're equally and everything... but then walks into a store and says, "Man, I wish they'd turn down that music" and it's not because it's loud, but because it's rap.

comment #27

scooterzz says ...

"The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades."

amazing......

comment #28

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Wells to Larry Gopnik: You're so racism-conscious you can't talk or breathe or think without checking your battery-powered racially-correct threat meter. Because I described a gargantuan thoughtless animal who lived above me as an "Hispanic party elephant" I'm racist? But if I'd said he's a Swedish or a German or Russian party elephant, I'd be okay...right?

You can't go through life tip-toeing around this and that taboo. Things and people are what they are, and some of us just call them by their right name. My experience with Spanish people in the Madrid film industry (i.e., the ones you see in Pedro Almodovar's movies) is that they're clever and spmetimes brilliant and generally hip and likable and charming in an X-factor sort of way. My impression of the middle-class Spanish people who live in North Bergen, NJ, is that they're not cut from the same cloth as the Madrid industry people -- they're a little more coarse and obvious and common and less tasteful and sophisticated. Oh, I'm sorry... was that a baddy-waddy racist thing to say?

Because the guy upstairs was and is a selfish fat-ass and I said what I said doesn't make me racist -- it makes me plain-spoken or blunt-spoken. Do you mind if I'm blunt with you, Larry? You're a slandering little wuss. You've called me racist based upon the needle in your p.c. meter. I don't know you personally so I don't despise you, but I despise the thinking that you're spreading. I am not a racist but you are definitely a limited thinker.

comment #29

Gordon27 says ...

"it's about light-skinned black people trying to heal home-grown evil in their own community"

I have to ask, if Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe is light-skinned, then who exactly would you consider dark-skinned? A burn victim?

"I do, however, despise the white-guilt herd thinking that is behind the support of "Precious" and Mo'Nique's performance."

You claim you don't hate people who disagree with you, but you must be self-aware enough to realize that you treat people who disagree with you with utter contempt and lump them all in together describing them as simpletons who have all arrived at their conclusion for one single over-riding reason. This isn't a unique case; you do this with literally every opinion you have. It seems strange to me, because the thing I love most about talking film is disagreeing with people that I respect. I'd much rather talk to somebody who didn't like 'Lord of the Rings' than did, but not somebody who didn't like it and will say "Anybody who likes this is a simplistic moron who's just interested in a spectacle, and it's all way too simplistic about good and evil for anybody of real intelligence" (that's paraphrased).

"and it probably wouldn't have found distribution."

You know, Jeff, it's really difficult to defend you from being accused of being a racist when you're essentially saying that this movie only got released because of affirmative action. I'm pretty sure that, as much progress as we've made, we're not yet at the point where it's easier for black directors to get funding and get films made just because they're black.

comment #30

btwnproductions says ...

I assume the reference to "light-skinned black people" is to Paula Patton's helpful lesbian schoolteacher in the film.

comment #31

Jeffrey Wells says ...

An African-American commentator complained to Newsweek that he resented how the healers in Precious were light skinned -- that's all.

comment #32

LarryGopnik says ...

Hispanic party-animals alone does not make one racist. Racist leanings they won't couch to? Sure.

And accusing anyone who loves "Precious" or Mo'Nique's performance as suffering from white-guilt is just fucking ridiculous.

But if you want to get into it, yeah. Hispanic party elephants doesn't sound good. Talking in "ghetto-speak" about patrons of "Dreamgirls" a couple years back didn't sound great either. Don't pretend it's just one thing you've said, or use the old "I jus' calls 'em like I sees 'em" line.

It's something people have picked up on and called you on time and time again. Not every comment by anyone having to do with race gets my panties in a bunch. And I'd be lying if I said I got particularly worked up over anything you've ever said. But, falling to your line of thinking, I jus' calls 'em like I sees 'em. You say a number of racist things -- hate to break it to you -- it makes you look like a racist.

comment #33

Jeffrey Wells says ...

But Armond White talking about white guilt support for "Precious" makes him...what does that make him exactly? I'm ridiculous for saying that -- I get your point -- but when White says it he's....? Can you give me some help? A little clarification?

comment #34

Geoff says ...

"It's something people have picked up on and called you on time and time again. "

No, just people like you, Larry. PC Police Patrol. You're the kind of guy no one wants to have drinks with, that's for damn sure.

comment #35

BurmaShave says ...

Wells, is it possible for Mo"Nique to be arrogant and disrespectful and for you to still be a bigoted creep?

"If Mo'Nique had any respect for the NYFCC she would cut short her vacation by a day or so and haul her lard ass up to Manhattan on the 11th."

Excuse me? Words that would never come out of your mouth about a white man. I know I never saw anything like it in all your excoriations of Brando for squandering his talent. Truly creepy.

comment #36

Gordon27 says ...

"An African-American commentator complained to Newsweek that he resented how the healers in Precious were light skinned -- that's all. "

Jeff - ah, I understand; I think I slightly mis-read what you had wrote, because I was thinking "Well, yeah, those two, and Mo'Nique is kind of light-skinned too..."

comment #37

Pynchon8 says ...

Is she really acting in this movie?

comment #38

Gordon27 says ...

"I'm ridiculous for saying that -- I get your point -- but when White says it he's....?"

Well, let's be clear; you're saying "white guilt" accounts for 100% of the support for Precious, he's saying that "liberal guilt" seems to be a factor... so, there's the degree that could be ridiculous. And the question of whether White looks ridiculous -- I mean, on the face of it, he only kinda does, and it might even seem like a reasonable point, depending on how you feel overall about Armond White...

But when the SAME SENTENCE in the review says that it smacks of liberal guilt because this movie is being hyped while "Excellent recent films with black themes" aren't -- and then cites Next Day Air, Cadillac Records, Meet Dave, Norbit, Little Man, Akeelah and the Bee, First Sunday, The Ladykillers, Marci X, Palindromes, Mr. 3000 as his examples -- then, yes, he sounds patently ridiculous. (No offense to 'Akeelah and the Bee', which does not deserve to be lumped in with those films.)

comment #39

corey3rd says ...

She doesn't seem to understand that her resume puts her on the fast track to being this season's Virginia Madsen - she might get nominated, but will Academy members really want a cable TV hostess with a resume that includes:

# Steppin: The Movie (2009) .... Aunt Carla
# Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008) .... Betty
Beerfest (2006) .... Cherry
# Phat Girlz (2006) .... Jazmin Biltmore
# Irish Jam (2006) .... Pyscho
# Farce of the Penguins (2006
# Hair Show
Soul Plane

a soulful performance by Madsen got beaten by a bad impersonation because Academy members didn't want to honor a Straight to Video Superstar. What are the chances that a star of Soul Plane and Beerfest is going to be a shoe-in for a nomination?

comment #40

Gogocrank says ...

If anyone has seen "The War Room" or "Nil By Mouth," Ray Winstone would have the ultimate pair of bad-parent Oscars. But we all know the Oscars (and most of these awards) are only nominally about talent, right? Anything you need to campaign for has little to do with merit. Merit campaigns for itself, but of course, merit doesn't have deep pockets, either.

comment #41

BurmaShave says ...

corey3rd, I think your analysis is a little off. I think for Madsen the nomination was the reward, and they desperately wanted to finally give Blanchett a statue.

Also, people I am desperately hoping get nominated for an Oscar in the next few years, just for Wells' sake:

Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Tracy Morgan, Sherri Shepard, Loretta Devine, John Amos

comment #42

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

The greater crime, we should have you know, is disrespecting the New York Film Critics Circle. And not denying your family a holiday-time vacation.

Psh, if my folks called me up and said, We have to visit to celebrate the holidays! Let's go someplace nice! And I said, but I have an award to accept! My folks would be like, YOU'RE NOT OUR SON ANYMORE.

I mean, get real. No one should be slighted for spending time with their family. It's not mandatory to go to these ceremonies, right? Do we need a permission slip?

Whatever the case, thank god we have a white guy around to tell that black woman what's appropriate. Of course it's not racist - but, hm, that sort of thing is suspect, and that's enough, really.

comment #43

Gabe@ThePlaylist says ...

Also, why is this site so dedicated to last-minute, breathless updates about what Mo'Nique does with her day? Hollywood-elsewhere is starting to read like a Google Alert for "Mo'Nique," "Bad behavior."

comment #44

DetectiveMills says ...

She was already robbed of a Oscar nom for Soul Plane, Phat Girlz, and Steppin: The Movie. Must we deny her for a 4th time? She's already the female Robert DeNiro with that resume. C'mon Academy, don't miss this one.

comment #45

bfm says ...

"I think the worst you can say about Jeff as far as racism is that he's like your old liberal uncle who was once progressive and still feels like he is, and doesn't hate "black people" at all and think they're equally and everything... but then walks into a store and says, "Man, I wish they'd turn down that music" and it's not because it's loud, but because it's rap."

Disliking rap music played loudly makes you racist?

comment #46

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

This post is incredible, Wells. I want this lady to win just for it to piss you off. God, this IS entertaining (even while being so disdainful).

comment #47

SnarfTheFierce says ...

Look, Jeff IS on another of his questionable quests, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Mo'Nique skipping the NYFCC is a rude, dunderheaded move. This isn't an auto show or a speaking engagement; she's a guest of honor, and she should RSVP as such, attending or not.

On top of that, if she wants to "get paid," she needs to wake up and start thinking past this March. Nominations won't get you parts, but awards will definitely open doors. If she were at all willing to play the game--even a little--she could fashion for herself a Latifah-like career. Critical respect, relative creative freedom, steady work. THAT'S what keeps you working in this business.

I still haven't seen Precious, and have a hard time mustering the energy to consider a screening. The subject matter sounds torturous, to say the least.

All this said, I must give Mo'Nique credit for one of the few hilarious moments in Beerfest: "DAMN, that's nasty! Things in the old country must've been FUCKED UP!"

comment #48

George Prager says ...

Let's face it, Mo'nique would have no problem locatiing truffles.

comment #49

LFF says ...

Is this the thread to point out the comparitive lack of distribution of AN AMERICAN CRIME?

comment #50

Glenn Kenny says ...

I think this is all kind of counter-intuitive, and that Wells is trying to bait Mo'nique to the extent that when she DOES win the Oscar, she'll dis him in her acceptance speech, resulting in all manner of attention and traffic boosts. He's a mack mofo, and by mack I mean machiavellian!

comment #51

SnarfTheFierce says ...

Raise your hand if you'd pay $10 to see an Ugly Truth-style romcom starring Mo' and Jeff as star-crossed yet inevitable soulmates.

comment #52

Andrea says ...

The thing is Jeff, there really is no one to benefit from any of this.

Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga seem destined to split votes. They are not giving Penelope Cruz back to back wins. And Jullianne Moore missing out at a SAG nom is catastrophic for her chances.

comment #53

shanes5 says ...

I'm seeing more of a Jeff vs "Big Mo" Celebrity Death Match

comment #54

Gordon27 says ...

"Disliking rap music played loudly makes you racist?"

You're missing my point; you know the sort of 50s-ish person I'm talking about or you don't. But it isn't about the volume, no.

comment #55

gansibele says ...

"Because I described a gargantuan thoughtless animal who lived above me as an "Hispanic party elephant" I'm racist? But if I'd said he's a Swedish or a German or Russian party elephant, I'd be okay...right?"

Well, first of all being Hispanic (or Swedish, etc) it's totally unrelated to their rudeness, unless it was also their choice of music that offended you, in which case yes, it would make you a racist as well as an elitist misanthrope.

But your comment above shows the same simplistic misunderstanding of what racism means as those who ask why a White Entertainment Television network would be racist, AKA the BET argument. For starters, Swedish or Germans or Russians are not minorities that have been institutionally discriminated against. Racism is not the same thing as color blindness.

Also, the Madrid artistic elites vs. North Bergen blue collars is as asinine an observation as if I told you that the good people from Alachua, FL are light years away from New Yorkers.

I also happen to think Mo'nique's performance is overhyped. But the truth is that the racial aspect of the controversy is being brought up by the detractors of the movie, including Jeff.

comment #56

C is for cookie says ...

Why does it have to about race?

Why can't this be about the fact that an actress who seems to go out of her way to pick the shittiest projects to appear in before (and no doubt, after) this flick doesn't deserve an Oscar? It was sort of like when Akiva Goldsman won an Oscar and all I could think of were the legions of better writers who've never even been nominated, let alone won, who so deserved the honor more.

If Jeff didn't like the performance, and she doesn't have the body of work of someone who takes the profession of acting seriously, it's entirely within his rights as a film blogger to try to convince people that there are other, more worthwhile performances out there to nominate. There's nothing racist about that.

I compare this to his quixotic campaign to deny Peter Jackson a directing nomination for Return of the King. And then his posts after the nomination to sway opinion toward Clint Eastwood for Mystic River. Or his attempts to block Spielberg from picking up an Oscar for Munich. Race had nothing to do with those campaigns, and I don't think it plays into his reasoning here.

He didn't like Precious. He doesn't think it's Oscar worthy. What's so racist about that?

I'm not white and I thought The Men Who Stare At Goats was horseshit from the first ten minutes in. Does that make me racist?

comment #57

Bob Violence says ...

Disliking rap music played loudly makes you racist?

yes

comment #58

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

@ C: For a lot of us, it isn't about whether Wells is a racist but his Nazilike campaign against anyone without a perfect BMI. Of course, he'll let that slide in the case of his BFF, "Philly" Hoffman, but a obese woman? OMG, no. The horror, the horror!

I recently got the screeners in the mail and have yet to watch PRECIOUS but I'm gnna try to get to it ASAP. Just been checking out UIYA tonight and will get to it soon.

comment #59

cinefan says ...

"If Jeff didn't like the performance, and she doesn't have the body of work of someone who takes the profession of acting seriously, it's entirely within his rights as a film blogger to try to convince people that there are other, more worthwhile performances out there to nominate. There's nothing racist about that."

I completely agree with you and wouldn't give it a second thought if Jeff had said just what you did. But, it's when he does things like refer to Monique as a lard-ass or come up with elaborately lame and bizarre generalities (which don't hold any water) about how evil characters should be depicted on screen or in dramatic art that we post and challenge statements which we believe very strongly are flat-out wrong or hypocritical or racist.

comment #60

Jeffrey Wells says ...

You know, all of you hysterical p.c. queens have been jumping all over me, and all I did was comment about Tom O'Neil's reporting about how Mo'Nique isn't planning on attending the NYFCC ceremony. I didn't open up an oldcan of worms for peversity's sake. Tom's piece was part of the daily conversation, it happened, I linked, I commented, end of story. And the p.c.banshees came out of the woodwork and made it all about me and my history...jeez.

comment #61

Wiggumx says ...

Calling her a "lard-ass" and "An obnoxious disingenuous ding-dong" is truly disrespectful, and yet you call her out for being disrespectful to the NYFCC. Weird.

comment #62

Gordon27 says ...

I'm not saying it's racist, but that site is *clearly* part of this "gotta take down Mo'Nique" thing, same thing you are. I can tell because they claim that, on her talk show, she ignored the question of artistic and historic importance and only asked about the money when, in fact, the artistic importance preceded the money, and they spent much more time on it.

comment #63

DetectiveMills says ...

Unless you are friend or family member of Mo'nique, I wouldn't worry about words. Agree with him or not, it's refreshing to see honesty....and not having somebody sugarcoat something.

That's why I come to this site everyday. You don't have to agree with Mr. Wells, but you DO have to allow him to say whatever he wants. He has that right. He's not the first person to make a comment about someone's weight...and I've got news for you, he won't be the last.

You can always hit that red X button in the upper right hand corner of your monitor if you take offense to his comments.

comment #64

Bob Violence says ...

You can always hit that red X button in the upper right hand corner of your monitor if you take offense to his comments.

whoa, thanks for the tip

comment #65

DetectiveMills says ...

No prob, Bob. I'm like a walking FAQ.

comment #66

scooterzz says ...

o.k....i'll try this again.....

"The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades."

do you not get what an abrasive, racist statement this is!?!.....you are using a common pejorative term for African-Americans to say how 'not' racist you are?!?

this would have been an awesome sentence if you actually knew what you were typing....but, clearly...(as usual)...not a clue....

comment #67

transmogrifier says ...

A repost:

What I love is how these days, watching a movie is almost beside the point; it's like, people subject themselves to a movie solely in order to have an opinion that they can use as ammunition in a barrage of humorless, self-righteous pseudoanalysis of various other blog-sects and their equally shallow, look-at-me opinions.

I swear, if you forced everyone in the world to give up the internet for a year, Hollywood profits would plummet - what's the point of watching a film if you can't use your half-arsed opinion to bludgeon others with and use as evidence of your exquisitely well developed good taste?

I'm not excusing myself from this phenomenon. I was listening just now to an awesome album, and all I could think was "Can't wait to mention this on the boards", rather than simply enjoying and connecting to the music. What a fucking horrible way to experience art.

comment #68

Renfield says ...

"hysterical p.c. queens"

Ouch.

After going through this thread, I feel like I just read a script for an episode of the UK "The Office" with Wells as David Brent.

It's not P.C., Wells. It's common decency toward your fellow man. Just because someone is an asshole or not to your liking socially doesn't mean the the race needs to be pointed out. They are individuals.

Christ, do you really need to be taught this?

comment #69

Sams says ...

She doesn't deserve to win it and is acting like she doesn't want to anyway. It doesn't matter if she's black, white, or pink. If you don't care for Jeff's opinions why are you here?

comment #70

David says ...

I've been reading this Column since 2003. I think this entry will be my last. Truly disturbing, even if it is just a "shock jock" ploy to generate page views.

comment #71

BizzarroJeffWells says ...

I just stayed up and watched PRECIOUS on the screener I was sent. Wow. it is a MAJOR performance. Scary, horrifying, dramatic, a tour de force, unlike anything I have seen this year. Now I KNOW what the hype is all about Mo'Nique burns off the screen. easily the best thing in the film.

@ Wells: It doesn't matter if she is "acting like she doesn't want" the award. The performance CAN NOT BE DENIED.

Don't get me wrong, the film is pretty brutal and one I will probably not be watching it again (Can you return an awards screener?).

comment #72

Jeffrey Wells says ...

I won't be watching it again either. My one viewing in Cannes was quite sufficient, thanks you.

comment #73

Aidan MT4 says ...

eff's first comments immediately after seeing Precious were positive; perhaps he should have trusted his initial instincts. I saw it recently, along with Up in the Air, and have to say that it is a better movie than the latter. I am neither black nor white, so guilt plays no part in my assessment. African-American and white cultures are equally exotic to me.

I was surprised by the humor of Precious, expecting it to be only a downer; I laughed out loud at the Fellini parody, for example. In fact, the much-dissed dream sequences were necessary, if only to make clear what Precious's inner life was like. Sidibe's performance really becomes three-dimensional there. In the end I felt the movie was a thought-provoking, relatively un-p.c. exploration of a part of America that we rarely see on screen, a dysfunctional African-American family. And all Americans pay the price for this dysfunction, in crime and economic and human costs, so it seems as universal as the corporate thugs in Up in the Air.

I don't get the "light-skinned, dark-skinned" issue. Mo'Nique is light-skinned and is the villain. Gabourney Sidibe, is dark-skinned and is the protagonist.

As for Up in the Air, I liked it, but found the critical bandwagon to be puzzling. There is a sit-com rom-com reductiveness about the whole project. Vera Farmiga is wonderful, as always, but her character doesn't make sense. What was she doing at the Wisconsin wedding if she didn't think Clooney was becoming more serious about their relationship? Anna Kendrick was good if caricatural. (I think Elizabeth Moss does a better version of this character in Mad Men.) And Clooney--when did his teeth begin to look like dentures?--has become increasingly all-Clooney-shtick-all-the-time. And what was up with the HUGE titles and Google Earth shots announcing each city?

comment #74

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Wells to Renfield: I dared to observe that if Precious was about scurvy white crackers in Alabama or Mississippi it wouldn't have gotten the traction that the actual Precious has acquired because it wouldn't have the liberal white guilt element propelling it along, and you turn around and call me a racist pigeonholer? You are a reprehensible name-caller, a slanderer -- no different than the worst Ku Klux Klanner standing on someone's front lawn with a burning cross or, more to the point, a Body Snatcher pod person pointing and screaming the words, "He's not talking the p.c. talk! He's not using the right terms....Eeeeeeee!" You said, "Christ, do you really need to be taught this?" No, I don't think so. I don't think I need to be taught anything by a tut-tutting sanctimonious p.c. drone like yourself...but thanks for the offer all the same.

comment #75

corey3rd says ...

can there be anything more disrespectful to cinema than Soul Plane?

comment #76

DetectiveMills says ...

What are you talking about? Soul Plane pulls you in and never lets up.

Snoop Dogg and Mo'nique are like a modern day Grant and Hepburn. When that plane almost crashes during the 3rd act, I could just feel like the audience was actually ON the plane. It did something that Cast Away could never do.

comment #77

Chicago48 says ...

Bottom line -- she's a comedian she's not an actress.
Bottom line -- if these awards don't get her better roles (which it WILL NOT) and more money, she could care less.

She's not a gracious person. She is what she is.

comment #78

slithis says ...

Does anyone else find it telling that Jeff, who should be an objective professional in this business, only saw the film once at Cannes (and intially had a very good reaction to it) and has refused to give it another look, yet continues this negative campaign? Jeff, I'm sorry, if you had this strong of a reaction to something you owe it to yourself to look again -- you can't possibly remember the nuances and details in Mo'Nique's performance from your one viewing so many months ago, which obviously blinded you for some reason yet unknown. It's time for you to look at the work again, not the character, and re-evaluatee -- and that is fair.

comment #79

atish says ...

I assume the reference to "light-skinned black people" is to Paula Patton's helpful lesbian schoolteacher in the film.

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comment #80

atish says ...

Yeah, that's the end of the story! Oh, wait, three more paragraphs of bitter bile, and then the end of the story! Until the next post about Mo'Nique and how her apathy towards the awards process insults everybody in the film industry!
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comment #81

atish says ...

She was already robbed of a Oscar nom for Soul Plane, Phat Girlz, and Steppin: The Movie. Must we deny her for a 4th time? She's already the female Robert DeNiro with that resume. C'mon Academy, don't miss this one.
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comment #82

atish says ...

I wouldn't go to any award shows if I were an actor either. Unless it's nationally televised, who gives a shit about what I have to say in my speech? Just send it in the mail, and I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit. People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.
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comment #84

atish says ...

Yeah, that's the end of the story! Oh, wait, three more paragraphs of bitter bile, and then the end of the story! Until the next post about Mo'Nique and how her apathy towards the awards process insults everybody in the film industry!
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comment #85

atish says ...

I wouldn't go to any award shows if I were an actor either. Unless it's nationally televised, who gives a shit about what I have to say in my speech? Just send it in the mail, and I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit. People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.
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comment #86

atish says ...

Make no mistake -- the little bitches who responded to my post represent the thinking out there. They and others like them will swoop down on you faster than hawks if your vote becomes known. The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades.
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comment #87

atish says ...

Make no mistake -- the little bitches who responded to my post represent the thinking out there. They and others like them will swoop down on you faster than hawks if your vote becomes known. The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades.
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comment #88

doublexjohn says ...

And accusing anyone who loves "Precious" or Mo'Nique's performance as suffering from white-guilt is just fucking ridiculous.

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comment #89

atish says ...

I wouldn't go to any award shows if I were an actor either. Unless it's nationally televised, who gives a shit about what I have to say in my speech? Just send it in the mail, and I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit.
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comment #90

atish says ...

At least now we know the main reason why Wells doesn't want her to win an Oscar - her obesity. If she were a white male with a healthy body mass index who also played a villain with panache, then it would be perfectly okay to miss the NYFCC award ceremony.
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comment #91

atish says ...

Jeff - ah, I understand; I think I slightly mis-read what you had wrote, because I was thinking "Well, yeah, those two, and Mo'Nique is kind of light-skinned too..."
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comment #92

doublexjohn says ...

It shows a big heart toward the end, and that's also the white-guilt element -- it makes us all feel good to know that we share the same emotions in our hearts. But also because we're big-of-heart enough to feel compassion and extend a symbolic embrace of poor, suffering, welfare-subsisting black folk in late 1980s Harlem.

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comment #93

atish says ...

People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.
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comment #94

atish says ...

People think you're racist because you've said dozens of unconscionably racist things in the past AND now you're posting daily posts on how an actress (who happens to be black) doesn't deserve to win an Oscar, an honor you last devoted to... Eddie Murphy, another black actor.
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comment #95

doublexjohn says ...

Jeff - ah, I understand; I think I slightly mis-read what you had wrote, because I was thinking "Well, yeah, those two, and Mo'Nique is kind of light-skinned too..."

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comment #96

atish says ...

Make no mistake -- the little bitches who responded to my post represent the thinking out there. They and others like them will swoop down on you faster than hawks if your vote becomes known. The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades.Sharm holidays

comment #97

atish says ...

Also, people I am desperately hoping get nominated for an Oscar in the next few years, just for Wells' sake:driver updater

comment #98

atish says ...

At least now we know the main reason why Wells doesn't want her to win an Oscar - her obesity. If she were a white male with a healthy body mass index who also played a villain with panache, then it would be perfectly okay to miss the NYFCC award ceremony.Business Lists

comment #99

pamelazz says ...

"Precious" is a white-guilt Oscar contender, and Mo'Nique will be Oscar-nominated because she's riding the white guilt train along with Lee Daniels and Lionsgate and Oprah Winfrey and all the others.identity theft protection

comment #100

pamelazz says ...

a soulful performance by Madsen got beaten by a bad impersonation because Academy members didn't want to honor a Straight to Video Superstar. What are the chances that a star of Soul Plane and Beerfest is going to be a shoe-in for a nomination? computer phone

comment #101

pamelazz says ...

Or maybe she just doesn't care about awards, like good actors shouldn't. The performance matters. The end. She's not running for Miss Congeniality.Holiday to Lanzarote

comment #102

pamelazz says ...

I wouldn't go to any award shows if I were an actor either. Unless it's nationally televised, who gives a shit about what I have to say in my speech? Just send it in the mail, and I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit. People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.voip comparison

comment #103

pamelazz says ...

People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. pdf fax

comment #104

pamelazz says ...

Yeah, that's the end of the story! Oh, wait, three more paragraphs of bitter bile, and then the end of the story! Until the next post about Mo'Nique and how her apathy towards the awards process insults everybody in the film industry! best voip provider

comment #105

pamelazz says ...

People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.voip service

comment #106

pamelazz says ...

I wouldn't go to any award shows if I were an actor either. Unless it's nationally televised, who gives a shit about what I have to say in my speech? Just send it in the mail, and I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit. People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants. Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.holidays to egypt

comment #107

pamelazz says ...

Alot of good it did Cuba Gooding Jr. at the Oscars the year he won, huh?tower defense games

comment #108

darkvince says ...

I assume the reference to "light-skinned black people" is to Paula Patton's helpful lesbian schoolteacher in the film.

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comment #109

pamelazz says ...

Plus a slogan that conveyed an idea that "it's not the sizzle but the heart of it, the all of it...a lot more than meets the eye awaits." paul smith

comment #110

pamelazz says ...

Wow. If any of the voting body represent half of Well's anger this movie is fucked come Oscar time.Army Surplus

comment #111

sammiha says ...

I promise I'll send a thank you card or gift basket or some shit. People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants.
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comment #112

sammiha says ...

Let's end this anti-Mo'Nique tirade here and proclaim that the work matters, and that's it.
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comment #113

ramfou says ...

If Mo'Nique had any respect for the NYFCC she would cut short her vacation by a day or so and haul her lard ass up to Manhattan on the 11th. It's 12.19 today -- she's got over three weeks to figure this out. I dont agree with this.

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comment #114

sammiha says ...

The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades.
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comment #115

sammiha says ...

People who don't vote for Mo'Nique because she's not polite or doesn't show up to awards ceremonies or because she's a bad tipper can go judge Miss America pageants.

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comment #116

zako says ...

Nice article. I think the author has done a great job. Thumbs up

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comment #117

sammiha says ...

They and others like them will swoop down on you faster than hawks if your vote becomes known. The liberal white guilt card is being played in spades.
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comment #118

ayesha says ...

Yes, she is the oscar winning lady. Awesome.
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comment #119

crawling says ...

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comment #120

pamelazz says ...

Schrader ought to be brought up on charges of lying to the public to get elected. Misrepresentation is a serious problem with these people. They don't seem to notice the difference between the truth and a hole in the ground.Canvas Art

comment #121

sammiha says ...

Oh, wait, three more paragraphs of bitter bile, and then the end of the story!
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ramfou says ...

Nice article. I think the author has done a great job. Thumbs up

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comment #123

Snow Shovel says ...

It's indeed a nice article. She is worthy for the oscar.

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sammiha says ...

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comment #125

sara says ...

Monique is a bad mother in the film. But is it same in her true life,. I hope it's not.
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comment #128

jdice27 says ...

This was a very good movie. I'm glad Monique finally decided to lose some of that weight. She was getting too big.

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comment #129

jdice27 says ...

I used to always hate when Monique would get on television and talk about how she hated skinny girls and how it was alright to be big. Next thing you know she started losing lots of weight. She need to tell these girls that being a healthy weight is good for the body and mind.

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