Joy
Fox 2000 Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
25
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinDec 7, 2015
Since Joy is a David O. Russell film, the presence of a) Lawrence and b) bizarre, fizz-popping explosions of catharsis are to be expected. But the ringmaster of The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle seems to have mellowed a little, which means fewer outright belly laughs, but a more layered and involving emotional landscape. Read full review
80
CineVueBen NicholsonJan 6, 2016
It's a banana flambé with extra rum that brazenly throws together folksy storytelling, arch soap opera melodrama and a typically eccentric cast into a golden Hollywood crack at the American Dream. Read full review
80
Total FilmJamie GrahamJan 4, 2016
Not without glitches but an energetic study of one woman’s refusal to settle for anything less than her share of the American Dream. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeDec 7, 2015
Lawrence is gritty, real and totally genuine. And, after ‘Brooklyn’ and ‘Carol’, here’s another film that passes the Bechdel Test for proper female characters with flying colours. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 2, 2016
The story is quirky and offbeat but the dialogue and acting set Joy up as an engaging late-year repast. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyDec 24, 2015
Joy doesn’t work entirely, and the structure set up so clearly in the opening sequence is dropped early on for no apparent reason, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get carried away at the story of a mop sweeping the nation. It’s a lunatic “Mildred Pierce," without the murder. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 23, 2015
Joy's entry into the world of entrepreneurship has the crazy trajectory of a rocket gone haywire, and Russell's movie is kind of haywire, too. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickDec 22, 2015
Mostly it’s up to Lawrence to wring all the drama and pathos she can out of a battle over patent rights that pushes Joy to the brink of bankruptcy. No surprise that her mettle cleans up all the messiness in Joy. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDec 15, 2015
It’s not in the same league as “Playbook” or “Hustle,” but thanks to some memorable set pieces and the best performance by Jennifer Lawrence since her breakout role in “Winter’s Bone,” the sometimes-bumpy journey is worth your investment. Read full review
75
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezDec 7, 2015
Playing like a slightly more reflective B-side to the director's greatest hits, his style in this film isn’t for the more cerebral audiences. But for the viewer who relates to family dysfunction, its maddening contradictions and its mercurial tenor, Joy can be painfully funny, engaging and full of relatable heartache. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. ScottDec 25, 2015
The movie, in all its mess and glory, belongs almost entirely to Ms. Lawrence. She is the kind of movie star who turns everyone else into a character actor. This is not a complaint but an acknowledgment of both her charisma and her generosity. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyDec 7, 2015
That the film itself is nearly as chaotic as the clan it examines can either be regarded as an admirable artistic correlative or a crippling defect, but the splendidly dextrous cast ensures that this goofy success story, which could just easily be titled American Hustle 2, keeps firing on all cylinders in the manner of the writer-director's previous few outings. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanDec 26, 2015
An inspirational, and mostly entertaining, saga, Joy is a Horatio Alger story for the 21st century — but who reads those anymore? Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 24, 2015
Lawrence is terrific at playing tough, as she also demonstrated in her previous outings with Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook” and, especially, “American Hustle." But maybe it’s time for her to take a rest from him for a while. There’s a lot more to this actress than bold and brassy. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisDec 23, 2015
At its best, Joy celebrates the passage of a demoralized woman who finds the steel in her spine. At its worst, it panders in the name of female empowerment, occasionally delivering moments of pseudo-inspiration that ring so falsely it’s difficult to hear anything else. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnDec 7, 2015
A sunny ode to capitalism, the movie is a coy advertisement of its own. In that context, it's a whole lot better than one might expect, and loaded with talent unabashedly hawking their wares. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldDec 25, 2015
While the perpetually charming Lawrence isn’t the worst habit a filmmaker can develop, she’s valiantly miscast here in a story that never quite hits its mark. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 24, 2015
The movie’s a shambles, alternatingly agreeable and aggravating, held together by our interest in its heroine and by Lawrence’s tremendously sympathetic performance. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie OgleDec 23, 2015
What the film truly reveals is something else entirely: how Jennifer Lawrence can elevate any material, any time, even middle-of-the-pack fare like this. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 22, 2015
The 25-year-old supernova (Lawrence) again proves she can do anything, moving from comic to tragic without missing a beat. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJaime N. ChristleyDec 7, 2015
David O. Russell proposes that there may be no real barrier between the caustic worldview he wears and the sense of childlike wonder he sells. Read full review
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