Breakfast w/Greg: “Precious” packs punch; Rosie talks about new love; Federer wants to stay on top

Good morning everyone.

Let me start off by saying that I’ll never be able to watch an episode of that old UPN sitcom The Parkers again after seeing its star, Mo’Nique in the film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire yesterday at the Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.

Mo’Nique is astonishingly evil as Mary, the abusive mother of the title character Claireece “Precious” Jones played by Gabourey Sidibe. Precious grew up being raped by her father and is pregnant for the second time with his child. Mary sees her daughter more as rival than victim and subjects her to constant physical, mental and sexual abuse.

You really root for Precious as she tries to find the strength to make something of her life despite the unrelenting ugliness of her situation. Sidibe just breaks your heart in the role and you want to reach into the movie screen and give her a hug.

Fortunately, the character has a few guardian angels who are there when she needs them the most: a compassionate teacher (Paula Patton) at the alternative school (the teacher happens to be a lesbian) she has begun attending and a social worker played by Mariah Carey. Yep, Mariah Carey and she is damned good in this movie.

Out director Lee Daniels has done a superlative job here and Sidibe is sensational. But you won’t be able to get Mo’Nique’s performance out of your mind.

STILL THE BEST: Even if Roger Federer never won another professional tennis match, he would be considered the greatest male player in the history of his sport.

But at just 28 years old, Federer said this week that he wants to continue to rule his sport for some time to come and build on his stellar resume that includes six Wimbledon crowns, five US Open titles and the 2009 French Open championship.

In a few weeks, he will be competing for tennis’s first “grand slam” tournament of the year: the Australian Open. Federer is a three-time champion but has not won Down Under since 2007. Last year, he suffered a heart-breaking five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the final. Nadal was the man finally able to overtake Federer in the rankings in summer of 2008 after a more than four-year reign. But Roger returned to the top last summer.

“I would like to stay No. 1 for an obvious reason—getting to No. 1 from No. 2 was very hard work,” Federer said Monday in Qatar where he is scheduled to play his first match of the season today. “Nadal played so well to stay No. 1. Now, I want to stay No. 1 for as long as possible. I am sure if I stay healthy, I can win tournaments and stay No. 1.”

“I am healthy now,” he added. “I know I can win many more tournaments than I did last year.”