Having already ushered her to one Oscar win and another
nomination, director David O. Russell reteams with his muse, Jennifer Lawrence,
for the rambunctious, but wildly uneven “Joy.” A modern melodrama, “Joy” is
inspired by the life of harried homemaker turned entrepreneur Joy Mangano, the
inventor of the Miracle Mop.
A creative,
endlessly imaginative young girl, Joy has been held back from her full
potential by her dysfunctional family (as so many of Russell’s protagonists
are). Only her grandmother, Mimi (Diane Ladd, also supplying the film’s cloying
narration) offers support. Mostly absent from Joy’s life, her mother (Virginia
Madsen) locks herself away in her bedroom, watching soap operas and hiding from
the world. Her father Rudy (Robert De Niro), his wealthy new girlfriend Trudy
(Isabella Rossellini), and seething half-sister Peggy (Elisabeth Röhm) are
given little shading, coming across less as real people than constructs there
to provide either hindrance or assistance to Joy achieving her goals. One of
the key players in her life is her ex-husband, Tony (Édgar Ramirez). We’re
given no insight into their relationship beyond Mimi’s assertion that they make
better friends than spouses, and the character seems to turn on a dime, from
useless layabout to sage adviser depending on the needs of the screenplay.
The film is
held together by Lawrence, who despite appearing too young and fresh-faced to
play a beaten-down-by-the-world, divorced mother of two, delivers an appealing
performance. The film’s best section revolves around Joy’s experiences getting
her product on the fledgling shopping channel QVC, run by Neil Walker
(Lawrence’s frequent Russell co-star, Bradley Cooper).
“Joy” is a
Frankenstein’s monster of a movie, disparate tones and plots grafted together
into a shambling mess. Part dysfunctional family comedy, part inspirational
tale of triumph-over-adversity, part business drama, the film sporadically
sparks to life, but never coalesces into anything resembling a coherent whole.
This article appears in Dec 30, 2015 – Jan 5, 2016.
