Director: David O. Russell
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Édgar Ramírez, Diane Laid, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Dascha Polanco, Elisabeth Röhm
Synopsis: JOY is the wild true story of Joy Mangano and her Italian-American family across four generations centred on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty by inventing the Miracle Mop and becomes a matriarch in her own right.
Ahhh Boxing Day, my favourite day of the year. It's new release movie day, and it's always been my favourite day. It was my favourite day when I worked in cinema and it's still my favourite day. It's the day that all the big new releases come out. The much anticipated films that everyone's hanging out for. When I worked in cinema, I used to get sneak peaks of everything that was coming and it would make me even more excited. Now I just wait with the rest of the world to see what Boxing Day aka New Release Day has in store for me. This year there were no massive titles coming out, STAR WARS was released a few weeks before Boxing Day, there was no HOBBIT film or HARRY POTTER instalment, no huge titles to speak of, but I was mighty excited about a couple of films that were due out and JOY was one of them.
A great ensemble cast that did their best
Image via 20th Century Fox
I dragged my butt out of bed on New Release Day even though I'd worked on Christmas Day and was pretty exhausted, because I wanted to be in amongst the madness that is the busiest day in cinema. The 10am session of JOY was relatively quiet - most people were probably still nursing their food babies and Christmas hangovers, but I was ready, and let me tell you, I was slightly disappointed. I have to agree with a lot of the critics out there, the question has finally been answered, Jennifer Lawerence can actually be in a film that's kinda shitty. There, I said it. She tried, lord knows she tried, but even she couldn't salvage this mess.
The storyline was all over the shop, Joy was pure victim, the struggling divorced mother of two who cares for both her parents and her ex-husband, who somehow managed to invent a wonder mop after cutting her hands wringing out a regular mop by hand. The film should have been incredible - it was brought to us by the team who gave is SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and AMERICAN HUSTLE - I had certain expectations of its greatness. I wanted it to be great, and perhaps that was my problem. Perhaps I went in with the bar set too high, but whatever the reason, I didn't love it and I wanted to.
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper couldn't save this mess
image via 20th Century Fox
The film opened with a disclaimer that the story was inspired by great women everywhere, like David O. Russell was trying to tell us his intentions were good, but that what we were going to see was a pile of crap. I ignored that warning and still hoped for the best, but the narrative was meh, and the acting was some of the worst I've seen out of any of this incredible cast. Shame, shame I tell you. Some parts of the film were truly laughable, and all the while Lawrence was trying to wring out every last bit of sympathy she could from the audience. I really feel for the actors in this film, they can only do so much with what they've got, and they didn't have much.
The narrative we open with from Joy's grandmother Mimi (Diane Laid) is quickly forgotten and when it returns later in the film it is intrusive and doesn't fit with the film. There are a few little side plots and twists that don't fit nicely within the storyline, that just complicate it and make you wonder why you're seeing it at all. Then we finish with Joy walking down the street after saving her entire empire all on her own putting on her hip sunglasses with her home job haircut and leather jacket that goes for what seems like years before we have the weirdest epilogue.
before the longest walk ever
Image via 20th Century Fox
2.5 out of 5
Xoxo
The Blonde Bombshell
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