(Spoiler Alert, Although Not Everything is Explained in the Exact Order of the movie) Joy is a movie about a woman who’s family is on who nourished her, and yet at times destroyed her. Joy is one of two daughters of Rudy Mangano (played by the Great Robert DeNiro), and Terry (played by Virginia Madsen). Although Joy’s mother is in the picture, it is her grandmother who is truly the Matriarch of the family. Joy’s parents bicker and her mother has succumbed to a life of constantly watching daytime soap operas, and never getting out of bed. Joy is seen as an imaginative child who comes up with ideas about different gadgets and different worlds. Her parents eventually divorce, which needless to say was not easy for Joy.
Yet, needless to say Joy is able to thrive under her pressure cooker- of- a- family conditions. She goes on to be a valedictorian and even gets accepted Joy later falls for a man who is a charming musician, but not the most responsible type. They get married and have two children together. Eventually, however they divorce-but Tony just lives in the basement. We see Joy as she finds herself as an airline ticket attendant supporting her family and sometimes helping her father do his accounting and taxes for his company. And so happens that on her father’s new girlfriend’s boat that Joy’s ex Tony spill wine on- and which Joy has to mop up. And in dealing with the shards of glass through mop string—that Joy’s Miracle Mop idea is born. As far as what happens next, well you need to see the movie. Although I will say that it involves some serious rivalry all the way to the end, death of a matriarch, a father who-brings you up and down, a best friend who trips us up on the notion that blood-is-thicker than water, a husband who is a better friend confidant, business cheatings, and a hell of handsome QVC executive-turned-friend known as Neil Walker and brilliantly played by Bradley Cooper. Now that synopsis has ended, let the review begin!
Jennifer Lawrence does an amazing job acting, from the way she tells Neil Walker that she wants to change one thing in her outfit, when she changes the entire look by wearing a simple blouse and pair of pants. Or when her mother floods the floor of her bedroom and Joy works to fix the plumbing issues. The way she holds the tools on the floor it is both natural, yet fierce, and very real. Her simple gesture of putting the flowers on top of a grave, the look of her eye as she cuts her hair.. are all so powerful! It is a joy to see her act- even in the most gut wrenching scenes. But apparently I am in the minority on this sentiment. I was like, “Ouch!”
A woman in the Ann Arbor area I was talking to was telling me that she liked the other David O. Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, and Bradley Cooper combinations. But that she did not like this one. She said that it was completely Joyless.
Then again in a very, very faint way, I can kind of see why this woman feels this way.
I am a person who loves biopics. I think I fell in love with them in the mid-2000s with movies like Ray and Walk the Line. Both these movies, especially Ray had an amazing way of making the most humorous and heart wrenching scenes of the movie entertaining. It has been a while since I have seen both of those films, but I remember watching them over and over on DVD because they were just captivating yet easy to follow. Joy, has a great story line- about a woman who had very palpable yet overwhelming struggles who lived at times a mundane life, but thanks to her genius twist on a mundane product- the mop- she changes her life trajectory. But, although Joy Mangano’s life story is fascinating and makes you do a double take, next time you spot her on QVC—the movie does not have the fully cohesive feel-good-ness that movies likes Ray and Walk the Line did.
I cannot quite but my finger on it. Perhaps, it is because the movie puts a little bit too much attention on Jennifer Lawrence, and not as much on the characters- thus making it a little less cohesive.
Not that the other characters did not have anything to say; they had plenty. First there was the narrator Grandmother, then the TV bound mother, and who can forget Robert DeNiro’s character’s quips?? I love how he said that his ex-wife was someone who we did not hear or see, or smell but was killing us all.
I also loved when Jennifer had lost a lot of blood on the boat, and then later felt sick because of it- DeNiro mentions the idea of drugging her and laying her down for a nap. And goes on to say, “ Can we drug her with some cough syrup? It’s completely natural.. “ In other words, the other characters had great lines—but their performances seemed to be jutting out at weird angles and not in harmony with Jennifer Lawrence’s performance. The way this movie was written, perhaps gave Jennifer a little too much weight. But it’s not entirely clear if that is the full reason as to why this biopic didn’t have that classic movie- I could see over-and-over feel that Ray and Walk the Line had.
I will say what my beef what the movie is- I did not like a few of the story changes they made, compared to Joy’s real life. First of all, Joy had three children and not two children as portrayed in the movie. Joy apparently had no duplicitous half-sister that was portrayed in the movie. And probably most unforgivable to me was that, they showed Joy struggling to make it WITHOUT A COLLEGE DEGREE. In the movie she said something to the effect of, she was valedictorian, got into a good school, but stayed to help out her parents after their divorce. The truth of the matter is that she DID go to college, and did not forgo her own plans because of her parents’ divorce. She actually graduated her college and later tried her hand at wait-ressing ( not shown in the movie), being an airline ticket attendant/agent, and other jobs. I wish this was shown because it inspires many people ( especially people graduating from college) that even if you are struggling to find your place, eventually you too can find it- as long as you hold onto your dreams, your passions, and know yourself. Many people need to see this. Alas..
That said, it is still a good movie. A movie about rags-to-riches, and holding onto dreams- no matter what life throws at you. And if you are looking for something magical.. well, that is offered at the end. The poster for this movie showing a woman wearing sunglasses, and a leather jacket with the snow falling on her face, showcases that magical end of this movie. Go see it.
4 out of 5 stars
