The acting carries this film, totally. Excellent acting all around, and Gabourey Sidibe was well-deserving of her Oscar. In fact, the acting is the only reason to watch this. I didn’t find the story compelling at all. No plot, per se, just situations to be dealt with. The daydream sequences were poorly executed. The grandmother’s role was all but dismissed. I’m guessing the book was much better.

I liked this movie, but I didn’t think it was “great” by any means. If there hadn’t been 10 nominees for Best Picture this year, I don’t think this would have deserved a nod (however, it did deserve to be in the year’s top 10). The director nod was very odd since I felt that the film easily could have blown me away with a better director. I disliked Lee Daniel’s choices of always slowing down the violence, as if he’s sitting next to you in the theater saying, “Can you believe what this girl is going through?” It lacked the realism and grit that would have made it a much better film.

That being said, Mo’nique’s performance was beyond brilliant and she deserved every accolade she received.

Holy cow. The next time you think you’ve had a bad day, watch this movie.