Joy
Don't Go! Joyous moments, but needed more.
From homemaker to moneymaker.
Director David O. Russell’s past three films – The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle – have generated 25 Oscar #noms between them. They all include characters who scrabble up the craggy slopes of dysfunctional relationships and straddle the narrow crevice between mental illness and eccentricity. His actors dart between heightened states of personality and make leaps of emotional range like frenzied, galloping, impassioned mountain goats. It is telling that the three Oscar wins from those films have been acting awards; most notably Best Actress for Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook. From that film and American Hustle, Russell again reunites with Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in Joy, already to the tune of two Golden Globe #noms. And whaddya know?! The Oscars are just around the corner. The faint, metallic reverberation of gongs is wafting…
Based on the true story of entrepreneur inventor Joy Mangano and set in the late 70’s, it is a story about the highs and lows of commerce. Lawrence (The Hunger Games) plays Joy, a mid-twenties divorced mother of two, whose club singer ex-husband, Tony (Edgar Ramirez, Carlos), still lives in the basement of her house along with her businessman father, Rudy (De Niro, Meet the Fockers) (also divorced). Her (yes, also divorced) mother, Terry (Virginia Madsen, Crazy Kind of Love) lives in the ground-floor bedroom and whiles her days away watching shoulder-padded soap operas and being apprehensive about the outside world. In the midst of this chaotic household, Joy’s Grandmother, Mimi (Diane Ladd, Chinatown) is the sole figure constantly urging Joy to fulfil her enormous potential and create something that will transform the circumstances of the entire, convoluted family. Joy has an epiphany to that effect and designs a self-wringing mop. Following an investment from Rudy’s wealthy, widowed womanfriend, Trudy (Isabella Rossellini, Death Becomes Her), initial optimism turns to huge debts and business difficulties, but when Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper, American Sniper) gives her a shot on new shopping network, QVC, things begin to look up.
Based on the true story of entrepreneur inventor Joy Mangano and set in the late 70’s, it is a story about the highs and lows of commerce. Lawrence (The Hunger Games) plays Joy, a mid-twenties divorced mother of two, whose club singer ex-husband, Tony (Edgar Ramirez, Carlos), still lives in the basement of her house along with her businessman father, Rudy (De Niro, Meet the Fockers) (also divorced). Her (yes, also divorced) mother, Terry (Virginia Madsen, Crazy Kind of Love) lives in the ground-floor bedroom and whiles her days away watching shoulder-padded soap operas and being apprehensive about the outside world. In the midst of this chaotic household, Joy’s Grandmother, Mimi (Diane Ladd, Chinatown) is the sole figure constantly urging Joy to fulfil her enormous potential and create something that will transform the circumstances of the entire, convoluted family. Joy has an epiphany to that effect and designs a self-wringing mop. Following an investment from Rudy’s wealthy, widowed womanfriend, Trudy (Isabella Rossellini, Death Becomes Her), initial optimism turns to huge debts and business difficulties, but when Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper, American Sniper) gives her a shot on new shopping network, QVC, things begin to look up.
Jennifer Lawrence’s absolute star quality is virtually unquestionable. If she sneezed, it is likely that glitter and rainbows would fly out of her nose; she would giggle charmingly and swiftly be nominated for “Best Bodily Expulsion 2015”. Already having nine Academy, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations (and four of those delivering wins), it is difficult to remember that she was literally born in the actual 90’s. The 90’s! She acts with a freedom that seems to reflect her real-life state, giving us satisfying and captivating characters, time after time. Joy is no different. It begins with the line “Inspired by the stories of daring women”, but could easily have continued “…so, appropriately, we also cast one”. Joy is fierce but not entirely fearless and Lawrence is an expert at playing (and, seemingly, being) exactly that. It is another resounding performance and complete embodiment of a role by a burgeoning generation’s leading lady.
Unsurprisingly, the best parts of the film involve Lawrence and Cooper, eye-to-eye. Reprising their lauded interaction from Silver Linings Playbook, Joy is massively elevated when both are on screen. In particular, the scene in which Joy demands that Neil Walker sells her product before she is thrown in front of the TV cameras for the first time is electrifying. Cooper is becoming the Jennifer Lawrence of Hollywood, where almost everything he does is exceptional. In Joy his supporting role becomes a Lawrence-esque scene-stealer; J Law occasionally even getting a taste of the receiving end of the thievery that she so often doles out to her helpless co-stars.
Unsurprisingly, the best parts of the film involve Lawrence and Cooper, eye-to-eye. Reprising their lauded interaction from Silver Linings Playbook, Joy is massively elevated when both are on screen. In particular, the scene in which Joy demands that Neil Walker sells her product before she is thrown in front of the TV cameras for the first time is electrifying. Cooper is becoming the Jennifer Lawrence of Hollywood, where almost everything he does is exceptional. In Joy his supporting role becomes a Lawrence-esque scene-stealer; J Law occasionally even getting a taste of the receiving end of the thievery that she so often doles out to her helpless co-stars.
All that said, in spite of those performances (as well as a hugely entertaining turn by Rossellini) and the handful of truly engrossing moments that they create, Joy feels frustratingly passive over its two hours. Being about the everyday occurrence of starting a business, the story itself has its limitations and the actors are fighting a constant battle to make the tale exciting through their performances. This make it feel distant from the audience and less inspiring and moving than it wants to be, despite its soft veil of American Dreaminess. In the world of the internet where starting a business can be done in a few clicks, perhaps the timeless message that endeavour, persistence and passion bring success needed to be more strongly emphasised to make Joy sell, sell, sell. Instead, the focus on so many quirky characters and their complex relationships is too much of a distraction, and leads us away from that essential, core message. At times the script and characters become so quirky, it is almost Wes Andersonian (Moonrise Kingdom), which is potentially entertaining in itself, but incongruous when layered on top of a fairly dry, true(ish) story about manufacturing mops. Neil Walker may be right when he tells Joy that, “In America, the ordinary meets the extraordinary everyday”, but making a compelling movie about it is easier said than done.
So don't go. Despite being a solid film with several good performances, Joy just isn't quite worth the price of a cinema ticket. Hang tight and mop it up from a stream at home in the near future.
So don't go. Despite being a solid film with several good performances, Joy just isn't quite worth the price of a cinema ticket. Hang tight and mop it up from a stream at home in the near future.
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