Joy (2015)

[Dementeleus]

Discuss.

[Blankments]

Plenty of film connoisseurs believe that director David O. Russell is on a downward spin. The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle were all blatant attempts to win the biggest prize in Hollywood, and now Joy comes along, his most obvious attempt yet. However, Russell has corrected many issues with his previous films, and although Joy is not a great film, it is his most interesting in years.

 

The most esoteric choice Russell makes in the film is the use of a soap opera as a recurring theme. Russell has taken ample inspiration from the soap opera’s overwhelming use of melodrama in all of his films. The soap opera is a type of television that uses characters first, and story second; and if that’s not a way to describe Russell’s films, I don’t know what is. Yet, the intriguing thing about Joy using the soap opera device is, despite its pulpy source material (Joy Magano’s life is utterly fascinating and honestly should be made for a miniseries instead of a film – more on that later), it is a film that is story first, character second, for most of its runtime. The first half hour is when it relies on its characters the most, and it is a dull affair, using hackneyed dream sequences and bland anachronic storytelling to try to make a compelling film. But then, a miracle (mop) happens. Joy invents her ingenious product.

 

From that point on, the story moves forward, caring mostly about Joy and not interested in subplots. This is slightly disappointing but perfect for a film, as Russell dives deep into the nitty gritty of exactly how the American entrepreneur starts. The soap opera takes hold in a different way though; in a soap opera, the characters are written bland and acted even worse. Joy is if a soap opera had great actors who brought their persona to the table. Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro essentially play themselves, but as they both have very public personas in the media, we see that in their performances, breathing life into dull characters. Edgar Ramirez and Bradley Cooper are particular highlights in this, as Ramirez plays his typical foreigner as one half of “the happiest divorced couple on Earth”. Cooper’s scenes are the best part of the movie, as he and Lawrence bring back their simmering chemistry from Silver Linings Playbook but move it to a new context as business partners. These scenes are magical in an idealistic way, much like the rare happy ending to a soap opera. Russell also imitates the soap opera by finding humor in every ridiculous twist that happens. One of the few subplots in the film is Joy’s mother’s (played by Virginia Madsen) love life, and every turn in that subplot brings big laughs to a story mostly devoid of them.

 

Finally, the story structure fits with a soap opera in a way that might seem annoying – and indeed, would probably be more suited to a miniseries – but actually is refreshing. Joy is in trouble! How is she going to get out of it? Tune in tomorrow to find out! Oh, wait, it’s a movie, so have the anticlimactic resolution now. This sounds like an insult, I know, but it’s actually refreshing, especially with Russell’s typical flourishes to the camera. Nevertheless, I know I mentioned earlier that I like this as a movie, but I also I mentioned that I’d like to see Joy’s life as a miniseries, and that’s because frankly, the characters we see briefly would be intriguing subplots. The ex-husband who’s still Joy’s best friend. The half-sister who psychotically wants to be as creative as Joy, without any of the gumption. The shopping network executive who just lights up the screen every moment he’s there (oh wait, that’s just Bradley Cooper’s natural charisma). All of these, and a few glossed over stories of her life, would have made a fascinating ten-episode series, but O. Russell didn’t want to go that way. And that’s fine.

 

However, I did already mention that Joy is not a great movie, and it’s not. It’s obviously rushed, as the editing is awkward a lot of the movie. This had FOUR editors, including Tom Cross, who I’m guessing was just hired after his Oscar win. There’s also a painful narration that just doesn’t work at all. I have to imagine Russell would’ve done reshoots on that aspect of it, but the rush for awards 2015 doomed him there. However, besides these flaws, it’s easily O. Russell’s most intriguing film in years. Joy is gloriously melodramatic, and is as easy to digest as the soap operas Russell’s films continue to emulate.

 

B

[baumer]

Not going to write nearly as detailed as the one above but for me the first twenty minutes are a mess.  I didn't like DeNiro in this but then when Cooper shows up, it gets good, very very good.

 

7/10

[filmlover]

This was kind of a miss for me, and it's a shame as I've been a massive fan of David O. Russell's previous three pictures (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle). There are like two or three really good possible movies within here, and there are certainly times where it feels like it's coming together, but the unevenness ends up making the whole thing feeling of little substance. As usual, Jennifer Lawrence is tremendous, as she overcomes the scripts limitations to make Joy feel like a fully dimensional human being (and the only person in the movie that feels like one; a strong supporting cast is pretty much stuck playing sketches of a real individuals). When the movie focuses on the title character's career, it works. Too bad the rest of it feels so undercooked. C+

[Blankments]

2 hours ago, Baumer Fett said:

Not going to write nearly as detailed as the one above but for me the first twenty minutes are a mess.  I didn't like DeNiro in this but then when Cooper shows up, it gets good, very very good.

 

7/10

Lol, sorry about that, I got carried away 

[baumer]

Why apologize?  It's a terrific review.

[Lizzy]

A - from me. I liked the fairy tale/ soap opera aspect throughout the first half and the fact it all fell away when she was ready to face making huge changes in her life. The cast is uniformly good and I think this is my favourite performance of Lawrence's. Going to see it again soon because I liked it so much. 

[ladyevenstar22]

giving this an A i enjoyed it , sure its not perfect but lawrence definitely elevates this to an A on her own merit and character's journey , didn't much care for side characters although i did laugh at her mom antics with the plumber and bradley cooper brief appearances and was surprised they held back from making them fall madly in love , he could have fallen for her diamond in the rough schtick , there could easily have been a romance there a la working girl !

i loved the soap opera scenes they were funny !

 

her father and sister were mean , petty sort of mean at it ! i'm ok if lawrence gets nominated she def brings a lot of spunk to every role .

[Blankments]

On 12/30/2015 at 8:56 AM, Baumer Fett said:

Why apologize?  It's a terrific review.

I just felt like I have may have been a bit too verbose, but thank you

[ddddeeee]

I loved, loved, loved J-Law in this.

[CoolioD1]

I would say a strong B+. Lawrence's best work easily. thought it was pretty much gold until the rushed pseudo-empowering third act. would have liked to see more of the soap opera stuff.

[CoolioD1]

Also Cooper is really great in about ten minutes of screentime. His arc that's basically a mini home shopping version of 'a star is born' was one of my favourite aspects and I'm sorta glad they didn't linger on it either.

[baumer]

I thought Cooper made the film much better.  Until he shows up, it really wasn't resonating with me.

[Hermia]

I didn't like some things, but it wasn't a bad movie....it was an ok movie, nothing much..i could watch this on tv in some years again..

Some scenes in the movie were very expected and cliche, i mean Joy doesn't change clothes because Joy is Joy and people just love Joy as she talks because she convince them she has the same problems with them or woman succeed = woman now help other woman to make it and she is soooo good and understands everything. e.t.c

 

[Goffe]

I'm convinced now that David O Russell is one of the greats and anyone who says otherwise is clearly wrong. 

 

A movie has to be something really special to keep me awake until 4am.

 

To make such fixating movie out of such mundane premisse is incredible, he is able to extract the best performances of the actors, he writes one of the most interesting dialogues and he constructs a scene like very few directors can. 90/100

 

 

[Goffe]

Oh, I would LOVE to watch that soap opera that Joy's mother watched, shit was hilarious, cracked me up every time.

[Joel M]

For me all the family kooky stuff fell completely flat. JLaw was very good and the part from when she meets Cooper to her first appearance in TV was the only part that the movie really worked for me. But really it would have been much better with less DeNiro, Rosselini etc.

[filmlover]

Yeah, the section devoted to Joy's uninteresting family/friends really brings the whole movie down because too much time is spent with them (although I did enjoy Virginia Madsen believing she could find a new lease on life just by having a black boyfriend lol). If they had just concentrated on her rise from rags to riches instead of cramming in two other completely different movies, it would've likely improved greatly. Very frustrating film.

[Goffe]

Saw it again with my cousins and I loved it even more.

 

I personally can't see how the movie would work without the first half focusing on Joy's daily routine, in my opinion, it added a lot of heart and was immensely enjoyable, gave more weight to Joy's decision of getting her shit together, doing something with her life, and not repeat her parents mistakes.

 

I would have hated if it was yet another biopic of someone going from "rags to riches"

[angeldelmito]

The acting all around in this movie is spectacular but JLaw really takes the cake, here. This movie was a great take on Joy's life. I liked it. Better review tomorrow, I'm tired. 80/100 (B-)