Precious Trailer: Mo'Nique, Mariah's Mustache, and a Heavy Dose of Emotional Uplift

Though Sundance sensation Precious (formerly Push) is currently in the middle of a Lionsgate/Weinstein Co. custody battle, that hasn't stopped Lionsgate from proceeding with its note-perfect plans for release. Its current placement at Cannes will help add a patina of awards luster, and while its teaser poster is admirably arty, it's not any more "beyond" than the early one-sheets regularly put out by producer Tyler Perry. Oh, and the trailer premiere? Is on Oprah.com, people. Can this campaign manage to sell a tough movie about abuse that many Sundance wags dubbed "uncommercial"? Let's have a look.

Lionsgate's canny trailer relies heavily on the film's inspirational, adversity-overcoming moments, while smartly reducing the abuse suffered by Precious to the moments that best showcase Mo'Nique's titanic performance as the mother from hell. We even get a glimpse of Mariah Carey's performance as a compassionate social worker, though her character's faint mustache is hard to see at this tiny resolution (we'd hope to see it one day in Imax, but we're a little wary of that format right now).

Still, despite the film's unconventionally star-studded cast, we're most impressed by the trailer's willingness to play down hunky nurse Lenny Kravitz in favor of the unknown, scene-stealing Xosha Roquemore. As classmate Jo Ann, Roquemore's got the film's most flat-out hilarious lines ("I'm Jo Ann, and my favorite color is fluorescent beige") and a surfeit of delicious attitude. Precious may be a hard sit at time, but if its ad campaign continues to push mega-gurus Winfrey and Perry alongside bursts of comic relief like Roquemore, the film may be a breakout this November.

VERDICT: As commercial as uncommercial gets.

· Watch the Precious Movie Trailer Video [Oprah.com]