Movie Review: “Joy” (2015)

“Joy” is the newest film by director David O. Russell starring Jennifer Lawrence. David O. Russell has established a strong working relationship with Jennifer Lawrence and co-star Bradley Cooper. Both actors appeared in the critically received films “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” however this film lacks the quirky edge that the previous two films had, with a less focused vision in the storytelling and less onscreen chemistry.

“Joy” is the “true” story of Joy Mangano, a woman who built a dynasty beginning with her invention of the Miracle Mop. The structure inherent in this sort of journey makes “Joy” a more conventional, and in my mind, less interesting story than the previous two films by David O. Russell. While “Silver Linings Playbook” is engaging due to its focus on unpredictable and unstable characters and “American Hustle” is visually compelling due to its retro style and wardrobe, there is less to engage the viewer with “Joy” and to set the film apart.

Jennifer Lawrence gives a strong performance throughout the film. At the start of the film she struggles to get by as a single and recently divorced mother working at the customer service desk at the airport. While her journey from struggling and insecure mother to confident businesswoman is compelling and well acted, it is fairly predictable. In addition, the supporting cast feels far less relevant in this film than in the several previous efforts by Russell. While Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper do a fine job, they feel more extraneous to the plot of the film than I would like. It’s hard not to think that without the focused performance by Jennifer Lawrence, this film would be irrelevant at best.

Overall: This will probably go down as a film that was lost amongst the booming success of the new “Star Wars” film. The critics have been less kind to this film than Russell’s last two, and for good reason. I find the negative reviews to be a bit harsh, as the performance by Lawrence was quite strong, even if the screenplay is fairly predictable and lacks and edge to set the story apart. This isn’t a film you need to rush out to the movie theater to see, but it will make an enjoyable weekend Netflix film.

Rotten Tomatoes: 43% (Top Critics)

Top billed actor: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

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