Personal Problems is a 1980 film described as a "meta soap opera" directed by Bill Gunn and written by Ishmael Reed that depicts the life and personal relationships of an African American nurse (played by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor) living in Harlem.

[1] The film was restored in 2018 by Kino Lorber and re-released at the Metrograph theater in New York City.

[1] Glenn Kenny of the New York Times said of the film: "For all its rough edges, Personal Problems retains a vitality and an integrity that practically bounds off the screen."

"[4] K. Austin Collins, writing for Vanity Fair, praised the movie as a "textually incomplete but spiritually overflowing accomplishment" and described it as "more than a clean narrative" which provided windows into a woman's life; "windows broad and intelligent enough to encompass a wide swathe of Black life generally, but free of neat narrative conclusions.

"[5] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine gave the film four stars and applauded Gunn and Reed's intimate portrayal of the characters, stating: "Gunn and Reed collapse conventional notions of reality, providing simultaneous glimpses into the minds of dozens of characters, lingering on scenes and informing them with confessional intensity.