"Joy" Review

Title: Joy

Directed by: David O. Russell

Screenplay by: David O. Russell

Year: 2015


David O. Russell teams up with Jennifer Lawrence once again in his latest film. Prior to Joy, I had no experience with any of Russell's films. I have yet to see The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, or American Hustle. As such, I had no expectations when it came to Russell as a director. However, I was aware of his affinity for casting Jennifer Lawrence as the lead in his pictures. Is Joy an enjoyable telling of a true story, or is it a star-studded slog?

Joy (Lawrence) has quite a busy life at home; she has to take care of her parents, grandmother, children, and even her ex-husband, who all live under one roof. Struggling to come up with enough money to support her family, Joy is suddenly struck by inspiration as she believes her new invention could change her life.

The film is loosely based on the life of Joy Mangano, who is portrayed by Lawrence in this film. Lawrence has proven to be a consistent talent on the big screen, and although her performance is exceptional once again, it is clear that she was miscast. Lawrence is simply too young to portray this character who is going through issues that occur later in life. It is not an issue with the performance, but rather the casting. Robert De Niro plays Joy's father and he is quite underwhelming. He leaves no impression, aside from annoyance. His character is very vexing and though the performance is okay, De Niro has seen better days. Edgar Ramirez is surprisingly effective as Joy's ex-husband Tony. Tony is such a well realized character and one of the few likable characters in the movie. Bradley Cooper is introduced late into the film, but that does not prevent him from giving a solid performance. Frankly, he is the most enjoyable part of the picture, stealing all of the scenes he is in.

Joy is essentially a loose telling of how Joy Mangano invented the miracle mop (yet Joy's last name is never mentioned in the film). The story unfolds at an uncomfortably slow pace. The first 20 minutes feel like mindless meandering as we go through Joy's daily routine. I understand the purpose, but the film takes way too long to communicate the message that Joy is living a hard life. Once she gets the idea to create the mop, things pick up significantly. The plot finally emerges, as up until this point, nothing really drove the story forward. And the film really hits its stride when Cooper's character, Neil Walker, is introduced. Every scene with Neil is incredibly well done and extremely engaging.

The editing and direction of this film do not mesh well together. The film has a two hour runtime and yet feels like three. Often times, scenes overstay their welcome as the camera seems to linger without focus. Russell's direction comes across as very amateurish. The camera focuses on the wrong subject in numerous scenes. For instance, many times when someone is talking, the camera does not show who is talking, nor who is being spoken to, but rather someone else in the room whose reaction contributes nothing to the scene. However, there are a few great moments of direction, such as Neil's introduction. The camera focuses on his hands with Joy in the background staring at the unseen man. This mirrors Neil's teachings later in the film is done rather well. But consider me unimpressed with Russell as a director.

The majority of characters in this film are also very unlikable. Joy's mother and father are pestering, which makes their scenes hard to watch. Joy's fictional half sister is very one-note, as all she does is insult Joy. There was literally no purpose for her character to exist. Isabella Rossellini's character, Trudy, is also quite irking. Though vastly more tolerable than those previously mentioned, she is still a constant downer. I understand the concept of having people constantly bring Joy down and disregard her ideas, but it was done so poorly in this film.

Joy also has two children, a boy and a girl. The boy is given almost no screen time. I do not believe he has a single line, and there is only one mention of him in the film, about how he is sick. The daughter on the other hand, serves as an emotional focal point for Joy and an anchor of sorts. The same can be said for Joy's grandmother, who, at times, narrates the film. The narration was unnecessary and the grandmother was such a bad choice as the narrator because of something that occurs later in the movie. Her ex-husband is actually one of the best parts of the film. Despite the fact that they are divorced, Joy and Tony still support one another and look out for each other's best interests, which makes for a complex and intriguing relationship.

The ending to this feature feels incredibly tacked on. There was no build up, no emotion, and no explanation. The final two scenes sort of just...happen. Given all the hardships that Joy has had to endure, the ending has no payout. The resolution was earned by Joy's actions, but the execution does communicate this idea and thus falls very flat.

Joy has a fascinating story behind it, but the film that tells it is not quite as fascinating, aside from a few good performances and a number of genuinely great moments, this movie is quite hollow. Most of the characters are distasteful, the plot moves along quite slowly, the direction comes across as lazy, and the ending is very unsatisfactory. Heck, the scene in which Neil shows Joy what goes on behind the camera during a commercial illustrates Neil as a better director than Russell. It is a fantastic scene and the film should have been more about that aspect of the story. Although there are a few good characters, great performances by Lawrence and Cooper, and a handful of moments of inspired direction, Joy is a mediocre attempt at telling an interesting true story.

Grade: C