Joy

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini
Directed by: David O. Russell
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A down-on-her-luck woman (Jennifer Lawrence) fights to provide for her children while taking care of her eccentric, dysfunctional family.

Review:

Tim: I'm always honest in my reviews, so I will start with this- I really had no desire to see this movie. It looked pretty bad. I know it has a great director in David O. Russell, but it just felt unnecessary. It felt redundant- you had Russell teaming with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper for the third time in a row. It was a story about a woman who invented a mop. I just wasn't down with what I was seeing. What ended up being so surprising to me is how good Joy is. It's not as good as Silver Linings Playbook, but it's better than the overrated American Hustle. I was not expecting this at all. I have to give Russell credit- he's a talented director. He was able to change my mind on this movie- it's really, really good.

Russell does a great job of introducing us to these eccentric characters who are interesting, but still feel believable as real people. We come to understand the characters, most especially Joy. And, even if we don't always like her, you have to marvel at her tenacity and determination. She has a very difficult, hard, frustrating life, yet she keeps moving forward. Jennifer Lawrence does an exceptional job of bringing this fascinating person to life. She's able to capture the quiet strength the character exuded. I liked Lawrence's performance and I found myself leaning in to watch the story of this character. Russell and Lawrence are a great team.

I always like seeing Robert De Niro and I love that he's able to find good roles like this. He's a supporting character, but an important one. He's able to showcase his talent here. I actually appreciated that Bradley Cooper had a scaled down role here. His role is critical and he delivers a strong performance, but his minimal screen time was the right call. I'm learning to like Edgar Ramirez more and more and he delivers another solid performance here. Virginia Madsen never really convinced me and Isabella Rossellini felt a little bit out of place. Diane Ladd wasn't used nearly enough. Still, Russell has always done a great job of casting his films and this is another winner.

The story itself is probably a bit weaker, but it's by no means bad. There were moments where the film was incredibly compelling- the initial depiction of Joy's life, her venture into Home Shopping, her early struggles and ups and downs. There were riveting moments in this film, but they mostly occur early and in the middle. As the film goes on, it lost me a little. I'm not sure how much of this is grounded in fact (I'm fairly sure it's just a little, as this is more of an amalgamation of strong women than a true story about one). The story felt a little more outlandish- not that what takes place couldn't happen, but the film doesn't do a good job of convincing us that it actually could. I was a bit incredulous at some of the twists and turns. It ends up fine because the journey is worth it, but the latter middle of the film has some serious flaws.

Regardless of the issues, Joy is an entertaining story about a very strong woman who succeeds in spite of major obstacles in her path. It's thought provoking and inspiring at times. I went into this movie really not wanting to see it, but I left feeling very impressed with Russell and Lawrence and the rest of the cast. Not every movie can be great (but what a wonderful world that would be)- sometimes you have to celebrate the very good ones, and that's what I am doing here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle