Read Mixed User Reviews for Joy (2015)

6

horcrux2007Apr 16, 2016

Jennifer Lawrence made a name for herself by starring in The Hunger Games, and she's easily one of the most recognizable actresses in Hollywood. But what does she do now that The Hunger Games has ended? Her first post-HG project is reteamingJennifer Lawrence made a name for herself by starring in The Hunger Games, and she's easily one of the most recognizable actresses in Hollywood. But what does she do now that The Hunger Games has ended? Her first post-HG project is reteaming with David O. Russell, director of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hussle, which netted her one Academy Award win and two nominations (including Joy). Although Joy wasn't as well-received as their other pairings, it still gives Jennifer Lawrence a movie to carry on her own without a franchise title to support her. Joy is a biographical film about the life of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop, because evidently she needed a biopic. She grew up in a home where everyone around her had a dead-end job, and her grandmother was the only source of optimism for Joy. By the time she's 30, Joy is a divorced mother of two, working a dead-end job, her parents are divorced but still live with Joy, and her ex-husband lives in her basement. To add insult to injury, her sister constantly humiliates Joy in front of her children. The rest of the film is Joy overcoming these obstacles to become an overnight success with her first invention, the Miracle Mop, and selling the product on QVC. It is one of those inspirational bio-dramas we get a few times a year, but it never feels overly sappy or fake. The real issue is the film's first half which drug on about 20 minutes too long hammering in how much the characters' lives suck. Once Joy makes the prototype for the Miracle Mop and starts her business, the movie's quality picks up immensly. You actually start caring about the characters rather than just saying "Wow, their lives suck." The ensemble cast, which includes Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, does typically great work and salvages the movie's slower parts. Joy is definitely one of those movies that you really go see for the cast, but it's often fun to watch Joy's race to the top even if it takes a long time for her to start.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

All this user's reviews

6

SpangleJan 16, 2016

Joy has a lot going for it that ultimately makes me like it more than not, but it is undeniable that this is a deeply flawed film. For starters, Jennifer Lawrence and the entire cast is phenomenal. Many claim Lawrence did not deserve herJoy has a lot going for it that ultimately makes me like it more than not, but it is undeniable that this is a deeply flawed film. For starters, Jennifer Lawrence and the entire cast is phenomenal. Many claim Lawrence did not deserve her Academy Award nomination, but my God did she ever. She was stupendous. Not my favorite performance of the year, but certainly up there. Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro were also quite good. Additionally, the pacing was fine, the film was always captivating, and the story had some very good comedic moments that had the whole theater in stitches. However, that is about where it ends. Yes, Lawrence's acting is good enough to outweigh everything else, namely the story. The story and the way it was written is deeply flawed. Based on a real woman, I have to assume the real story could not have been that bad that they had to Hollywoodize everything. Not only does Joy's story follow the traditional character arc and story structure a little too well, it just feels so fake. Even more, much of it designed to remind you of how strong a woman Joy is. I get that she is strong and independent, but I do not need a reminder every five seconds. I have no issue with strong women, but a film about one does not need to keep reminding you of such. Instead, it should demonstrate it. However, this is a sin the film commits quite often, as it often tells rather than shows, namely in the form of its narration. Entirely useless, the narration here is a major cop-out and is used solely to have forced exposition and connect scenes together. The script finds ways to get worse, however, as all of the characters are one-dimensional. Real humans do not act this way, let alone ones allegedly based on real ones. In particular, Joy's half-sister seemed to cruel and mean, yet there has to be more to her tale than the film let on. Ultimately, Joy is compelling, funny, and incredibly well-acted by Jennifer Lawrence, but its story handicaps it throughout.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

6

eagleeyevikingJan 23, 2016

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper deliver typically brilliant performances in an otherwise mess of a film that works in parts but not at the full sum.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

All this user's reviews

6

smiyamotJun 2, 2016

What a rags to riches story! Is it all true? Mostly true? Joy comes from the ultimate dysfunctional family. To see where she came from to where she ended up is a miracle. Unfortunately, the making of the movie did not thrill me, noWhat a rags to riches story! Is it all true? Mostly true? Joy comes from the ultimate dysfunctional family. To see where she came from to where she ended up is a miracle. Unfortunately, the making of the movie did not thrill me, no matter how great the story of Joy. The movie is over 2 hours long, maybe some editing would have made it better.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

All this user's reviews

4

JLuis_001Sep 6, 2017

I can not say that Joy is a bad movie, but it does feel disjointed and not so much because of the script, but the director who apparently never seem to know what he wanted to do with this story. Regardless of the performance of JenniferI can not say that Joy is a bad movie, but it does feel disjointed and not so much because of the script, but the director who apparently never seem to know what he wanted to do with this story. Regardless of the performance of Jennifer Lawrence, the film barely survives by itself.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

All this user's reviews

6

csw12Dec 25, 2015

Jennifer Lawrence barely holds this movie together. Joy has a few memorable scenes but the film suffers from a weak story that isn't all that interesting.

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

All this user's reviews

6

yosemiteFeb 3, 2016

Good casting but the dysfunctional , eccentric father role played twice a year by Di Nero is getting old. Lawrence and Cooper always good as was Virginia Madsen (didn't recognize her). Nice story about never taking no for an answer, believingGood casting but the dysfunctional , eccentric father role played twice a year by Di Nero is getting old. Lawrence and Cooper always good as was Virginia Madsen (didn't recognize her). Nice story about never taking no for an answer, believing in yourself , rags to riches, etc., etc., but it got me wondering how much dramatic license the film makers took. Was Joy Mangano really like that, nice,decent,ambitious woman or in real life, was she obsessed, self involved and irresponsible in her parental duties. Its worth seeing… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

All this user's reviews

5

Movie1997Dec 25, 2015

I really wanted to like this movie, but there is no other way of putting it. "Joy" is a joyless mess. To be fair, Jennifer Lawrence gives a great performance as Joy, but honestly, it's hard to acknowledge her great performance when thisI really wanted to like this movie, but there is no other way of putting it. "Joy" is a joyless mess. To be fair, Jennifer Lawrence gives a great performance as Joy, but honestly, it's hard to acknowledge her great performance when this movies multiple styles and awkward pace overshadow the main character herself. At one point, it feels like a Scorsese movie, at another point, it feels like it's suppose to be lighthearted. And my God, the pacing towards the last half felt like the fantastic four. A very long first act, no second act, and a rushed 3rd act. There's no clear vision of what this movie wanted to be and the movie made me kind of angry. Overall, there's no point in getting into the story when the movie isn't even sure what it wants to be. I give it a C!… Expand

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

All this user's reviews

6

BHBarryJan 5, 2016

"Joy" stars Jennifer Lawrence, Diane Ladd, Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini and Bradley Cooper. The film was directed by David O. Russell and co-written by Mr. Russell and Annie Mumolo. This is the loosely"Joy" stars Jennifer Lawrence, Diane Ladd, Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini and Bradley Cooper. The film was directed by David O. Russell and co-written by Mr. Russell and Annie Mumolo. This is the loosely based story of Joy Mangano, the lady who went from rags to riches via the QVC Network after demonstrating and selling her new invention, a mop that never touches your hands and whose head can be washed in a washing machine. The story is really quite predictable with the other actors playing caricatures in a modern Cinderella tale with a heroine who mops the floor and a stepsister who is her arch rival.
The dialogue is trite and leaves little to the imagination save the gaps that the viewer must fill in because some of the scenes and scenarios just don’t make much sense. If you delete the "J" from the title of the film you end up with the word "oy" and that’s the word I used after I viewed it. I give the film a rating of 6 and suggest that the ticket price would be better spent on buying the mop featured in the story.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

All this user's reviews

5

TVJerryJan 2, 2016

Jennifer Lawrence teams up for the 3rd film with director David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle”), this time based on the life and career of Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop. There’s irony behind the movie’sJennifer Lawrence teams up for the 3rd film with director David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle”), this time based on the life and career of Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop. There’s irony behind the movie’s title, because there’s almost no joy here. She has a deeply dysfunctional family, an intense struggle with her product and a pretty unhappy life. Russell loves to create characters that are less than likable and put them in situations that challenge them and the viewer. Also, the music choices are often dreadful. There’s no question that he’s an interesting filmmaker, but not always the most enjoyable. I wanted to like the person and the movie, and even though her bio is fascinating, this movie takes too long and is downright unpleasant.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

All this user's reviews

5

GreatMartinDec 28, 2015

The joy of “Joy” is that Jennifer Lawrence is on screen for 95-98% of the time, otherwise the movie is too busy and has too many unnecessary characters such as the Isabella Rossellini’s role which supplies one way to forward the story butThe joy of “Joy” is that Jennifer Lawrence is on screen for 95-98% of the time, otherwise the movie is too busy and has too many unnecessary characters such as the Isabella Rossellini’s role which supplies one way to forward the story but adds a lot of nothing to an expanded role.
The best part of the movie are the scenes involving Bradley Cooper as he and Lawrence just have a natural chemistry no matter what roles they play opposite each other. Following close are the scenes with Edgar Ramirez as her ex husband still living with her and their two kids. Also living with them are her mother, Virginia Madsen, her father, Robert De Niro, andf her grandmother, Diane Ladd who narrates the movies. Also in supporting roles Elisabeth Rohm as her half sister, Dascha Polanco as her best friend, Melissa Rivers as her mother Joan along with soap opera icons like Susan Lucci, Laura Wright and Maurice Benard fill in the story with the latter three stretching out the film making it seem longer than it really is.
The movie is ‘based on a true story’ about Joy Mangano’s inventing the self-wringing Miracle mop and all it took to make it a success from appearing on the QVC channel, being duped by men regarding business, her going into monumental debt and finally standing up for herself.
As it is the film is very chaotic with all the family members, the business and TV angle, independent woman in the 1990s, instead of concentrating on that plus her ex, their kids and how she handles all that plus fighting in a business world.
Jennifer Lawrence continues to show her expertise as an actress in playing various roles and doing a good job in each and though she is excellent in “Joy”, the movie itself, as directed and written by David O. Russell, it is not up to her capabilities.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

All this user's reviews

6

ydnar4Dec 27, 2015

Joy the story of a woman that most of the world is completely unaware of and it is kind of random selection for a project. David O Russell and Jennifer Lawrence have already worked together twice so its easy to get our hopes up. I wasn't aJoy the story of a woman that most of the world is completely unaware of and it is kind of random selection for a project. David O Russell and Jennifer Lawrence have already worked together twice so its easy to get our hopes up. I wasn't a huge fan of American Hustle but I could respect it. The real strong side of Joy is the great performance by Jennifer Lawrence. I totally understand the Golden Globe nomination. Joy is by far the most interesting and loveable character in the film and she's very easy to root for as the movie goes and she continues to struggle. Now the main issue with the rest of the cast is that they aren't very likeable. Robert Di Niro and Bradley Cooper are both in this film but sadly they are almost unlikeable. Joy comes from a life of dysfunction and because of that there are times where she is completely on her own. Then there are certainly some scenes that really stand out above the rest.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

All this user's reviews

5

John935Jun 3, 2016

JLaw is very good and no doubt most of the weirdness of Joy the film is intentional but I was left w/ a feeling of Is That All There Is? (which, come to think of it, would have been a cool addition to the soundtrack). Part of the film'sJLaw is very good and no doubt most of the weirdness of Joy the film is intentional but I was left w/ a feeling of Is That All There Is? (which, come to think of it, would have been a cool addition to the soundtrack). Part of the film's problem, overall, might be unintended consequences from oversimplifying the business issues faced by Joy the character, i.e., Do the oversimplifications actually cause greater confusion? All this is especially problematic w/ the patent issues. Patent law is about as complex and tax law. The film 'wants' us viewers to understand it but doesn't really give us much help (maybe it doesn't understand it either). Also, the woman's success story is admirable but at times it feels like it is straining to be political correct. I'm not sure I'm right about most of the above. I am merely setting forth my reservations about this film by a director whose work I'm often crazy about.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

5

MattBrady99Dec 29, 2015

Joy: "We got here from hard work, patience, and humility. Don't think the world owes you anything because the world owes you nothing".

The story is about a Long Island single mother who had to fight every inch of the way when she came upJoy: "We got here from hard work, patience, and humility. Don't think the world owes you anything because the world owes you nothing".

The story is about a Long Island single mother who had to fight every inch of the way when she came up with the Miracle Mop - a self-wringing design that turned her into one of the most successful entrepreneurs in America.

So I've just seen David O. Russell's new film "Joy" and it was pretty disappointing. This is coming from a guy who wanted this movie to be brilliant and it was on my most anticipated movie of December, but it sadly didn't live up to that exceptions.

You had no idea how much I wanted "Joy" to be a great movie and also how I wanted it to be David O. Russell's best film, because while I wasn't a big fan of American Hustle (after re-watching a few times) but I thought this movie will bring him back to his old roots, because I've notice he picks style over substance in his last movie (Silver Linings Playbook isn't one of them). The story in the movie seemed to be laid back for David O. Russell, so he doesn't go too carried away with the style he presents in his movies. And there are a few good shots, creative camera work in some scenes, and that's really it. He dose nothing to the story that made it exciting or even interesting. I like David O. Russell as a director, I really do, but this guy is pretty far away from flawless.

Jennifer Lawrence performance was the one thing that wasn't disappointing. She did a great and strong performance in this movie, but her Long Island accent was a bit off at times and you may think that the actually person herself that Lawrence is playing (Joy Mangano) sounds like that, well I did my research and let me tell you no, she doesn't. But all that side, she did a solid performance and she was the only likable character in this movie. Great work Lawrence.

The story itself isn't that interesting coming to think of it. Just reading the story of what the movie is about isn't that engaging, but I thought with a huge cast like this, David O. Russell behind the camera and the trailers made it look promising, because maybe these more to this story that we don't know about, but in the movie stuff happens and are main character is going through hell...oh and these the unlikable characters in Joys life. This story is loosely based on Joy Mangano life.

I didn't give a single crap about any of the character in this movie and that's this movie biggest flaw. All of characters (expect Joy) feels like movie characters and every time their say something it wasn't convincing and didn't feel real. Not once did I feel attached to any of these characters. Theses a lot of characters in this movie played by big name actors, but I just wished it was written and executed better.

The first half of the movie didn't really know what it wanted to be. It was very scatted as it goes back and forward showing what Joys family life was like. All of that is trying to do some character development or just to flesh out her character, but I wish those flashbacks had a purpose in the rest of the story, as I felt it was thrown in there.

Overall "Joy" isn't a bad movie, I mean Jennifer Lawrence basically saves this movie from getting a much lower rating from me. The movie looked good, it was well shot at times and even when I didn't like the characters in the movie, I still thought the actors where good. I wanted to like this movie but sadly, it was a mess.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

5

FilmPhonicJan 5, 2016

Jennifer Lawrence is reunited with director David O. Russell in a semi-biographical comedy/drama based on Joy Mangano and her journey from struggling New York single mom to entrepreneur, inventor, millionaire business owner and powerfulJennifer Lawrence is reunited with director David O. Russell in a semi-biographical comedy/drama based on Joy Mangano and her journey from struggling New York single mom to entrepreneur, inventor, millionaire business owner and powerful family matriarch.

Writer/director David O. Russell’s formula of stylizing real stories, featuring ensemble casts portraying humorously dysfunctional characters, against the backdrop of classic rock & pop soundtracks has served him well in recent years with films like ‘American Hustle’ and ‘The Fighter’. And by uniting Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper for the third time, O. Russell seeks to work his magic on this female empowerment and “American Dream” story.

Despite many a seemingly mundane subject resulting in many an entertaining movie, you might think that a semi-biographical story about a rather typical middle-America single mom, who transforms into a rich shopping channel star, just wouldn’t be that compelling… and you would be right.

Hollywood megastar and media darling Jennifer Lawrence stars as “Joy”, the only seemingly functional character in the story, who’s surrounded by quirky friends & family that rely on her while life and responsibility drags her down. Only for circumstance to conspire with her precocious nature to help her fulfil her potential in this true, and yet rather fanciful tale about never giving up in the pursuit of your “American Dream”.

‘Joy’ certainly does have its redeeming qualities with plenty of offbeat characters and deadpan humour to keep you entertained, for the first half at least. Robert De Niro’s turn as Joy’s self-styled father particularly steals the show, and Jennifer Lawrence central accomplished performance just about holds the movie together. But the tone of the film changes drastically towards the third act and the comedic charm is lost as it moves towards a rather flat emotional character drama.

No amount of toe-tappin’ tunes will disguise the fact that this film is very uneven with most of the narrative focusing on Joy’s early entrepreneurial days, which then suddenly and conveniently wraps up in the final 10 minutes, with no lead-in, into her current status as a powerful family matriarch, and then that’s it, the film’s over.

The Bottom Line…
Director David O. Russell can’t seem to wrangle a strong ensemble cast, a delightful soundtrack and plenty of belly laughs into a compelling and cohesive rags-to-riches “American Dream” story. ‘Joy’ is a rather flat and underwhelming comedy/drama that loses steam, let’s see if O. Russell will now rework his winning formula or apply it to more yielding material.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

All this user's reviews

5

MEFzelderJun 11, 2016

Escrita y dirigida por David O. Russell “Joy” es un drama biográfico que intenta demasiado ser “la” película de la mujer luchadora. De la vida de Joy Mangano obtenemos la adaptación de sus inicios como inventora, y la lucha que fue llevar elEscrita y dirigida por David O. Russell “Joy” es un drama biográfico que intenta demasiado ser “la” película de la mujer luchadora. De la vida de Joy Mangano obtenemos la adaptación de sus inicios como inventora, y la lucha que fue llevar el Miracle Mop, su primera invención, al mercado.
La historia es narrada por Mimi (Diane Ladd) quien contrasta la infancia y el presente de su nieta Joy (Jennifer Lawrence), que de ser una niña con sueños y aspiraciones pasa a tener un presente bastante complicado, siendo la cabeza del hogar, y estando al cuidando de sus padres, hijas y ex esposo.
Los actores son el gran fuerte del film, Jennifer Lawrence expresa perfecto el rol de resiliente y la voluntad de la homenajeada. Robert De Niro (Rudy) logra muy bien el papel de padre, siendo regio y comprensivo dada la situación, Bradley Cooper no es tan carismático como suele ser, pero es un buen colaborador.
Un pormenor importante es la introducción de la trama, Joy queda bien representada en las dos primeras escenas, pero se hace un esfuerzo innecesario por desarrollar al resto de su familia, haciendo tedioso el inicio. El gran problema es la forma en que se esfuerza en crear la imagen de la mujer luchadora, se viste a Lawrence con el look de Fonzie dejando una imagen un tanto bizarra que no cohesiona con el resto del largometraje.
En general es un drama regular, los actores cargan con el proyecto, pero una que otra decisión hacen que la adaptación de la vida de Joy Mangano no pueda ser más.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

6

vinicius96Mar 9, 2018

This movie has so many screenplay/directing problems, and only works thanks to Jlaw's beautiful performance.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

6

MusicMovesMeJan 5, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I love Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in pretty much every movie I've seen them in. Unfortunately they end up being the only likeable characters in the movie. With the exception of Joy's ex husband who redeems himself by being her friend when she needs someone who isn't trying to stab her in the back.

None of her family members are at all likeable. The movie shows her and Peggy as children and they seem to get a long fine, but then suddenly as adults Peggy has nothing but negative things to say about Joy, and seems to be constantly waiting for her to fail. She acts like a jealous child, and not at all like a supportive family member.
Joys' father is no better. I love DeNiro, but I detest Joy's father. He is quick to jump on the band wagon to stab her in the back, right along with more or less everyone else in this film. Over all the movie was good, as in the story line was well done, and the cast was great, but I hated pretty much everybody in this movie, especially Isabella Rosselini's character.

I'm also not sure why they bothered casting anybody for Joy's son as he is on screen for all of 3 minutes, and then conveniently forgotten as she totes her daughter all over the place with her. Who's watching her son while she's in the KMart parking lot, and why isn't her daughter with that sitter as well?… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

NedRyerson1Mar 13, 2016

Joy as the new movie of David O. Russell stays far behind from his previous features. The major topic that treats is basically the same, it’s a lost protagonist defeated by life, with a family behinds trying to control him and, of course,Joy as the new movie of David O. Russell stays far behind from his previous features. The major topic that treats is basically the same, it’s a lost protagonist defeated by life, with a family behinds trying to control him and, of course, living throw him too. All these set in the slums, because is from the director’s belief that those environments bring out the worse of all people in order to survive. And the parade starts with Joy Mangano, a single mother, with an inventor mind that carries with a parasite family, sucking her life that won’t stop until there’s nothing left. She is accompanied by a mother stuck watching an endless soap opera, all day long; a failed father with anger and trust issues; an immature ex-husband that lives in her basement; and a jealous sister with nothing to lose. The problems of the film begins when that family is moved aside in the story and we see nothing but the protagonist fighting for her dreams, although is impressive the real struggle of Mangano, seeming like a melodrama; the seal of this director is how he manage to have a big group of people floating around a person trying to move on. That’s when the viewer notices the power of the family and its deepest thoughts that scares you and makes you feel trapped. David O. Russell is marvelous directing actors, Jennifer Lawrence certainly captures the director idea for her performances and the family is, ones again, well achieved.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

oDjentoJan 17, 2016

I wasn’t too interested by the trailer of Joy but after watching a small featurette of it on TV I became interested in it due to the directors emphasis on “making interesting and strong characters”.
The film sadly did not deliver just that.I wasn’t too interested by the trailer of Joy but after watching a small featurette of it on TV I became interested in it due to the directors emphasis on “making interesting and strong characters”.
The film sadly did not deliver just that.
The film is made up to be told from the Grandma’s point of view, yet her character is hardly developed, and neither is anyone else’s really that much other than Jennifer Lawrence’s. Lawrence does bring an excellent performance here and deserves her Oscar nod but it doesn’t save the film.
The writing only allows Lawrence’s character to get any real development or relatability to them, but the writing is also exceedingly flawed. It has Lawrence’s character ping pong between strong female to sobbing and scared mess without any real explanation between her two personas.
The characters you’re meant to love are only really Lawrence’s character and her Ex-husband really due to the way they’re written, her dad is a funny addition (brought by a performance by Robert De Niro) but isn’t really fully explained as a character and usually pushed to the side, and the character that you are meant to hate are written in such a one-dimensional way that they are only written in a hateful, non-complex way.
The film does still provide some interesting shots and scenes (I specifically enjoyed Bradley Coopers explanation of the Teleshopping market) but it still suffers from convoluted writing and a rather disappointing ending; so much is said to have happened but we more get it as a recap, along with Lawrence’s character then seeming like the typical “I’ve been there so I’m super nice I can help you” character.
The film is enjoyable and shows Lawrence’s acting capabilities but still doesn’t come away unscathed of criticism.
6/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

AliceofXJan 5, 2016

Joy is one of those movies that makes you scratch your head. On the one hand it is done by talented people and you can see the bones of a good story. But it is basically like a first draft that somebody decided to shoot anyway.

For oneJoy is one of those movies that makes you scratch your head. On the one hand it is done by talented people and you can see the bones of a good story. But it is basically like a first draft that somebody decided to shoot anyway.

For one thing the film has zero subtlety about its themes and metaphors. Zero! It feels like the director is screaming at you with a loudspeaker. And if it still went over your head then don't worry because the movie is so over narrated it feels like the film's makers believe their audience to be morons. That and the fact that this film sacrifices being a compelling tale in favour of being a hagiography of the Strong Independent Business Woman.

And yet I couldn't dislike this film, despite its many flaws. What little story there is engaging and Jennifer Lawrence does her best to humanize the character of Joy. All the other characters remain on the level or cardboard stereotypes but Lawrence adds a likeability to Joy that carries this film.

I think that in the end it will be a subjective matter whether you like this film or if it strikes a chord with you. But even then Joy can at best be described as mediocre.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

hanneguacamoleJan 4, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Joy is inspiring, as it should be, to the audience and I believe that was the movie's ultimate goal. A self-ringing mop may not be the most important invention, yet Joy's success and failures resonate with our own lives and our own problems.

Joy was nonlinear and a bit confusing at times. Joy's dead-beat mother practically lived inside of a soap opera, but that does not mean that I want to watch the main character trapped inside a television screen. This isn't Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! Nonetheless, the abstract scenes took away from the overall meaning and story. Less is more when unnecessary.

Joy's strongest point may have been its emotional connection. Everyone I spoke to after viewing the film had a strongly negative reaction to Joy's family and felt some type of empathy towards her. Character development is crucial, but I don't always want to feel disgusted towards everyone except the protagonist. And can someone tell me why Mimi was so important to the story? Joy's success did not seem to stem from that women – it stemmed from herself.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

CineAutoctonoApr 12, 2016

"Joy" was a very good movie , but at what little was much drama and without feeling a touch of comedy , the only thing salvageable was Jennifer Lawrence again broken, with the feisty woman telesales and his performance was very good I get"Joy" was a very good movie , but at what little was much drama and without feeling a touch of comedy , the only thing salvageable was Jennifer Lawrence again broken, with the feisty woman telesales and his performance was very good I get excited much.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

EpicLadySpongeFeb 1, 2016

Joy's not a joyful ride, but it kinda works for being decent and all. There's like so many things you could like do to enjoy Joy without falling into any bait from fooling you. Take Joy as a happy movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

4

amheretojudgeJun 5, 2018

neither joyous nor intriguing enough to invest in it..

Joy One of the most acclaimed and artsy genre; drama, has had a wider range of features, each of them conveying a message but there never has been such an empty (it's not actuallyneither joyous nor intriguing enough to invest in it..

Joy

One of the most acclaimed and artsy genre; drama, has had a wider range of features, each of them conveying a message but there never has been such an empty (it's not actually empty, but the rudimentary procedure in here undermines every aspect of it) and shallow, like this particular one. It fails on technical aspects like production and costume design, background score and editing. The writing is loosely placed on this overlong of almost two hours of journey that makes the audience sweat before reaching its destination and the real culprit in here is the premise that never had enough crisp to make it on screen in the first place. The attempt to pull off such an eerie project is appreciative and David O. Russell gives it all through his brilliant execution skills but it barely moves a muscle in the bigger picture. On being aware of the safe hands and the opportunity the actors have got, all of them are giving their best in, like Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Edgar Ramirez. Having said that, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have its moments, there are few amazingly shot sequences that are plausible. Joy is neither joyous nor intriguing enough to invest in it and addition to that misses a huge opportunity to create something colossal with such a huge and potential cast.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews