The economy being what it is, I didn’t really have the ducats to don some UGGs and fly to Utah for the Sundance film festival. I’m not all that bummed except I missed out on the premiere of Push, which won the Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award. Push was snapped up by Lionsgate who was, well, pushed to acquire the flick by its main money-maker (other than the Saw movies) Tyler Perry and one-woman media juggernaut Oprah.
Based on the novel by Sapphire, Push is not your average Sundance film, to say the least. One, alongside unknown Gabourey Sidibe, it stars Mariah Carey, Mo’Nique, Lenny Kravitz, and The View‘s Sherri Sheperd. Two, it’s about an illiterate black teen carrying her father’s child for the second time. Three, her mother is an abusive shitshow who knows about — and possibly resents — her child’s sexual abuse.
Make what you will of the ink and pixels being spilled over whether or not Push will sell to white, middle class audiences, but I will be seeing it as soon as I possibly can — with Kleenex in hand.
Here’s a snippet of Eric Kohn’s wonderful interview with Mo’Nique at Sundance:
‘Well, I was molested. The person who molested me was a monster. So I had to go to that person, because I know what it was like for me. [Daniels] said action, and be that monster.’
And more on Sundance from the talented Karina Longworth here.
If you’re not convinced yet, click on over to Defamer to see a clip of Sidibe and Carey in the movie and tell us in the comments if you’ll be lining up for Push on opening night.
by Jenni Miller
