
IT is a convention of the Oscar season that when an actor is among
the hopefuls, a phalanx of promoters, publicists and managers go to
work, making sure that the star is dolled up and walks miles of red
carpets to tell anyone who will listen that she would be “thrilled just
to be nominated.”
Mo’Nique has never been much for convention. A
stand-up comic from Baltimore, she defined her own version of plus-size
beauty, drawing belly laughs along the way by pointing out that it is
O.K. to have one. Along with her busy stand-up career, she starred in
“The Parkers” for five years on UPN and had movie parts here and there.
But it was her role in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
that turned heads. As Mary, the baleful, hellacious mother of Claireece
Precious Jones, the illiterate teenager who serves as her punching bag,
Mo’Nique created a movie monster who seemed all too real. Her ability
to step inside a character of monumental menace has made her a favorite
in the best supporting actress category.
Mo’Nique, 42, says she cares deeply about “Precious”
and is thrilled to be among the mentioned, but she is not about to
reorganize her life or her priorities to get her mitts on an Oscar.
“The Mo’Nique Show,” her daily talk show on BET, just began in October,
and while other hopefuls are criss-crossing the country for all manner
of events, chatting up Oscar bloggers and making sure that everyone
knows that they want it, Mo’Nique is mostly here in Atlanta, tending to
her show.
She was here at the end of November, in a building in an industrial part of town, getting ready with her “Precious” co-star Gabourey Sidibe
for a photo shoot for the Vanity Fair Hollywood issue. In that sense
the Oscar race has come to her, a tribute to the magnetic performance
she gave this past year.
It is yet another convention of the
Oscar season that the star look casually elegant for any news-media
opportunity, but when Mo’Nique met with this reporter, she was simply
accessorized by a bathrobe, a headband and the “Precious” director Lee Daniels.
She looks great — as she herself often affirms in her stand-up and talk
show — but there is no artifice, no fluffing for a newspaper interview.
(That will come later for the magazine photo shoot.)
Mo’Nique and
Mr. Daniels are a pair, cracking each other up into near helpless
laughter at the smallest provocation, and are particularly amused by
the keening of the Oscar press because she hasn’t paid proper tribute
to the needs of the Oscar-industrial complex. “Deny her a nomination
and teach her a lesson,” harrumphed Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood
Elsewhere.
Mo’Nique can’t really get with that. Her campaign, if there is such a thing, was her performance, simple as that.
“Anytime
I’ve been given an award, it has been because of the performance; what
else goes into it?” she said, appearing genuinely mystified. “Look, it
makes me appreciative any time someone says they may want to honor your
performance. I’m appreciative at any talk in reference to any award,
but there’s not much I can do about it now. The performance is done.”
It
was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable performances of the
year. A. O. Scott, a film critic for The New York Times, wrote that Mo’Nique played Mary with “operatic fervor.”
But isn’t she worried that “they” will think she doesn’t want the Oscar?
“I’ve
been asked the question before,” she said, “and it’s like, guys, I also
have this show called ‘The Mo’Nique Show’ where I tape six shows a
week. I have twins who are 4, so I have babies, I have an amazing
husband and a son who’s 19. What I can participate in I’m more than
happy to.”
Mr. Daniels makes it clear that the support he needed from Mo’Nique for this film came on the set.
“We
are in our bubble, and we pay no attention to any talk about what she
should and not be doing right now,” he said. “We’ve been told from the
start that no one would see a movie about a young black girl, that it
wouldn’t make any money, on and on. Instead here we are, with all kinds
of people going to see the movie, and even talking about the Oscars.”
Mr. Daniels is more interested in the opinions of Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey,
both of whom signed on as executive producers and supporters of the
film. Ms. Winfrey, who was nominated for her 1985 supporting role in “The Color Purple,” sent an e-mail message saying that Mo’Nique is a very legit contender regardless of how busy she is.
“Her performance is so raw and so searing and without a doubt Oscar-worthy,” Ms. Winfrey wrote.
It
was all the more remarkable for its audacity. Mr. Daniels said he was
convinced that a large, wisecracking comic could portray a character
who makes Faye Dunaway’s depiction of motherhood in “Mommie Dearest” seem almost cuddly by comparison.
“Actors
want to act,” he said. “Mo’Nique doesn’t act. She saw what this role
was about, and she just snatched it. She didn’t outsmart herself like
so many actors do.”
Most actors tend to speak in mystical tones
about roles, especially difficult ones, but Mo’Nique said her biggest
accomplishment was just doing what she was told.
“I so believe in
his vision, brother, I’m going there,” she said, looking at Mr.
Daniels. “I’m not asking no questions, I’m not asking you why.”
During the interview the film was described as “dark” one too many times. CONTINUE READING...
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