​FILMS

joy

There's joy to be experienced with Joy.

2016 review number 21:

Joy: (Drama/Comedy): 77 out of 100: Jennifer Lawrence must be fast becoming writer and director David O. Russell's muse because this is her third film collaboration with him since it began with Silver Linings Playbook in 2012. This was the movie which landed her an Oscar and she has been nominated again this year for her portrayal of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the self-wringing Miracle Mop in the early 1990s. It's another film based on a true story which seems to have comprised at least 20% of the films made in the past year. It's obvious there is an element of fiction in the story when one of the characters is narrating in the afterlife!

 

Joy has a dysfunctional family. Her ex-husband Tony lives in her basement. Her father, garage owner, Rudy (Robert De Niro) has nowhere to go and wants move to in. He has divorced from Joy's mother Terry (Virginia Madsen) long ago. Terry's mother Mimi (Diane Ladd) also lives at Joy's home and helps her granddaughter in raising her children, unlike Terry who spends most of her time in her room watching soap operas on TV. With financial advice and backing from her father, sister Peggy (Elisabeth Röhm) and Rudy's new love interest Trudy (Isabella Rossellini), Joy has grand plans to market her invention, the Miracle Mop. A home shopping network executive, Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper), might just be the right person to help her achieve her ambitions.

 

David O. Russell likes to create ensemble pieces that showcase his actors' skills and this is no exception. He has fashioned an entertaining script that has been well-acted by his cast. There are several quirky characters to generate the humour that is evident in several scenes. Not everything about the story is great however, with an over-indulgence of scenes featuring a soap opera shown on TV (The gimmick here is that some well-known soap actors have been cast to perform these scenes). Also, a transformation of Isabella Rossellini's character is a bit far-fetched. The best scenes involve Joy trying to market her invention. 

 

Russell keeps things moving along at a snappy pace. There's enough happening in each scene to entertain viewers. What starts off as a dysfunctional family story for the first 45 minutes then becomes an insight into the selling of an invention. This might annoy some people who have just warmed themselves to a family comedy/drama but the redirection of the story focus allows for more scope and variety. 

 

This is a rags to riches story that might play with the facts but the real story might have been simply too boring to present on screen. If David O. Russell's goal was to entertain his viewers, then he has achieved what he set out to do. For that, he can also be thankful for his cast in bringing his characters to life. 

 

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen and Isabella Rossellini

(124 minutes)

Parental advice: Coarse language

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR-2TiQVY-k (Movie trailer)

 

(Reviewed on Monday 1st February, 2016)

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