Joy

I confess an approach with a negative a priori. Having not really enjoyed Happiness Therapy (David O. Russell, 2012), I feared a film gathering the same director with the same main actors. And I was definitely wrong! First, Jennifer Lawrence plays admirably, and is excellently assisted by Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen and Isabella Rossellini. This film is also a fabulous and inspirational advocacy to an escape attempt from a disadvantaged environment filled with zombies (the mother Terry in particular, and the father Rudy to a lesser extent) thanks to an obstinacy skilfully measured out and the wise help of her former husband Tony. This movie is invigorating!

I was not drawn to Joy when it was first released because it just looked like a made for TV movie. I was surprised when Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance and still had no real desire to see Joy. Joy popped up on my new releases list on Apple TV today so I thought I would just watch the first 10 minutes to get an idea whether it would be watching or not. After 10 minutes I knew this was worth watching so my husband and I watched it and to both of our surprise we really liked it. Jennifer Lawrence was outstanding in her role as Joy. I've always thought Lawrence was an amazing actress since I saw her in Winter's Bone. She is the real deal. She is destined for more success with each film she is in. DeNiro is amazing as always. It is a wonderful story that should have received better reviews. I can understand why it wasn't a box office hit but it is definitely worth watching.

I heard that this movie received negative reviews and feedback, so I was pleasantly surprised when I enJOYed the movie as much as I did.

There is no denying that the grand appeal to the movie was Jennifer Lawrence's compelling performance. The movie's story itself does not seem like it has much to offer. A poor, overworked woman selling a plastic mop does not sound that thrilling on paper. However, Lawrence takes it up a level to a powerful story about a woman never giving up and making her own opportunities happen against all odds. She takes you on an emotional journey from start to finish. Lawrence has the undeniable ability to make you ache along with her struggles. This can be uncomfortable for the helpless movie-goer, which leads me to wonder if this is the reason so many people had distaste for the film. No one wants to be told that hard work and strong will are not enough to succeed in this world, and, as a whole, "Joy" does just that.

That being said, "Joy" still left me feeling inspired. As a young, aspiration-filled woman myself, Lawrence's portrayal of Joy makes me feel like I can take on the world (which is dream that current American society consistently crushes on the daily). Lawrence's deadpan stares as she struts in and out of offices along with her turning point bathroom haircut, confirm that both Jennifer and Joy are a force to be reckoned with.

"Joy" also possesses a subtle humor, although many reviews seem to deny its existence. The purposefully over the top soap opera scenes obsessed over by bed-bound Terry (played by Virginia Madsen) are just enough to raise the otherwise dark tone.

Lawrence and David O. Russell take you on an emotional journey with "Joy." It may not be the uplifting movie you want this holiday season, but I would argue it is the movie you need.

Some people have really gotten riled up about this film. I love to watch Jennifer Lawrence, so I give it the benefit of the doubt from the beginning. This, of course, is the story of a smart woman who has done only things for the family, only to be used and abused by them. She has finally had enough and decides to move on an idea for a new kind of mop that will revolutionize housecleaning. The problem is getting connected with someone who will notice what she has done. She goes through all kinds of trials and pain and finally hits it big on QVC. However, there are people out there who know how to manipulate things to make life miserable for a neophyte. The problem with this movie is that nearly everyone is a jerk, only in things for themselves. Also, there is a kind of "deus ex machina" ending that makes things all hunky dory. I still haven't figured quite how she lands on her feet at the end and what the threat was. Still, it moves along pretty well and keeps one's interest. I did feel, however, that she should have shed the whole bunch of people who tried to stop her along the way.

Blue-collar visionary Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) has an idea for a revolutionary new home-cleaning product. With the help of her failed lounge singer ex-husband Tony (Edgar Ramirez) and despite the machinations of her crazy family she pitches the product to a home shopping channel mogul (Bradley Cooper).

The film Joy is what you would get if ingested psychedelic mushrooms, wrote an infomercial about Miracle Mop and got an excellent cast of Hollywood stars to appear in it. Nothing is more absurd than the very idea of this movie getting made as a wide release feature with the exception of the inexplicable critical acclaim it has garnered.

Auteur David O.Russell (Who wrote, produced & directed) has been so successful in recent years with films like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle that it has perhaps made him complacent and even bored. Sometimes when that happens an artist can go off on an experimental tangent. Equally as often the same artist can take on a challenge that they shouldn't. That is what Russell did here in trying to turn an idea that wouldn't normally have been considered for a movie of the week on the Lifetime network and making a feature film out of it.

I feel like seeing it again just to make sure the actors were really saying the goofy lines of dialogue I heard. Some of them appear to be gleaned from a motivational speaker's teleprompter. Others sound like what you hear in a dubbed version of an awful Mexican soap opera. I'm embarrassed for the distinguished cast that they had to try to make sense of this weirdness.

Tinged with Fellini-esque surrealism the bizarre rhythm of sequence suggests it was absolutely butchered during editing by somebody on speed, then Ritalin, then speed again. I often found it incoherent. It probably made perfect sense to drug users.

If the film accomplishes one thing it is that everyone who sees it is gonna wanna buy a Miracle Mop. I started scouting for one online right after I saw it.