Review of Joy (2015) by Joshua M — 12 Sep 2016

I was actually kind of surprised how much I enjoyed this flick. With the narration from the grandmother at the beginning, coupled with the fantasies that makes one feel like director David O. Russell was going to send someone on a drug-fueled fever dream, I was concerned that the entire movie would be a pretentious slog.

Fortunately after the first twenty-ish minutes or so, it gets into the heart of the story. Unlike many of her roles in the past (and in spite of a few moments later in the film), Jennifer Lawrence really gets to show her acting chops in a subdued performance, something I have not felt I have seen in any of her previous work.

Also shocking for me, Bradley Cooper gets to portray a real character here, rather than relying on his patented "smarmy, obnoxious bro" persona he has usually leaned on in other movies. It would have been nice for the flick to revel in Joy Mangano's later success more than for just ten minutes towards the film's end; that said, director Russell and his cast are victorious in telling a minimal tale well, plus adding a little pep into the plot (without detracting - too much - from the main pieces they focused on), and for that, they should be commended.