Mariah Carey Puts on Serious Actress Face

Mariah Carey is currently in Park City, Utah, and publicizing her role in Push at the Sundance Film Festival. When she isn't resting.

The role in Push, which is based on a novel by Sapphire, is a departure for 39-year-old Mariah, who is mostly known for her music career and her career-stalling starring role in 2001's panned A Star Is Born-knockoff Glitter.

In the new movie, Carey plays a social worker who is trying to aid an HIV-positive teenager who is on her second pregnancy.  The sad part is that both pregnancies have been caused by the teen's father.

That's about as far away from Glitter as you could get.

Carey received favorable reviews for her role as the battered wife of a State Trooper in the indie flick Tennessee. Unfortunately, very few people have so far been able to see it.

Mimi's new role, in which she wears a dowdy wig and doesn't trill a single note, could open up new opportunities for her.

And if the serious dramatic route doesn't work out, she has a Christmas movie musical in the works. According to the New York Daily News, the project sounds like a cross between Mariah's positivity-filled music and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Mariah's musical is based on her multi-platinum selling Christmas album, and will star her fighting against an evil development corporation trying to raze a small town to build a mall.

"Mariah doesn't want to let that happen," her producing partner Benny Medina said. "Her character uses song and love to keep the Christmas spirit alive." Oh, dear. Glitter 2?

"Since I recorded the Christmas album, I've always wanted to make a movie to go with it, something that people could watch and hear and enjoy every year. I'm all about the holiday season," Carey says.

Gritty roles like Push will make that holiday season all the more festive.