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Title: Joy (2015)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jennifer Lawrence | ... | ||
| Robert De Niro | ... | ||
| Bradley Cooper | ... | ||
| Edgar Ramírez | ... | ||
| Diane Ladd | ... | ||
| Virginia Madsen | ... | ||
| Isabella Rossellini | ... | ||
| Dascha Polanco | ... | ||
| Elisabeth Röhm | ... |
Peggy
(as Elisabeth Rohm)
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| Susan Lucci | ... |
Danica
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| Laura Wright | ... |
Clarinda
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| Maurice Benard | ... |
Ridge
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| Donna Mills | ... |
Priscilla
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| Jimmy Jean-Louis | ... |
Touissant
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| Ken Howard | ... |
Mop Executive
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1995. Joy has always been fascinated by creating things, this pursuit always supported emotionally by her maternal grandmother, Mimi. Joy feels that lack of practical support has led to others making fortunes on ideas she had come up with years ago but could not act upon manufacturing. Despite being broke, Joy is the person in her extended family to who everyone has always turned, in the process forgoing her own life, including not having attended college to help see her parents through their divorce. She works in an unsatisfying job as an Eastern Airlines ticket clerk, and lives with her mother Terry who spends all day in bed watching soap operas, her ex-husband Tony, a less than successful aspiring Latino Tom Jones wannabe, and their two children. Added to this mix is her father Rudy, the owner of a failing heavy-duty garage, which is managed by Joy's older half-sister Peggy, with who she has somewhat of a strained relationship, and for which Joy does the books. Sharon, Rudy's ... Written by Huggo
It's not hard to see why this movie divides people. Some will always find a tale of an under-dog's trial over adversity compelling, no matter how clumsily it's told. And some will find a story about the manufacture of a mop dull, no matter how charismatic the characters or inspirational the telling of the tale. The problem here is that charisma and inspiration are in short supply. David O. Russell doesn't make much of the real strengths of the story. And he can't resist imposing his trademark style on characters and a story that really don't either warrant or suit it. So the characters are more than a little grotesque around the edges; the situations are all heightened, even given an absurdist spin; and the facts are never allowed to get in the way, even when they might actually strengthen the story. So much of Joy is desperately predictable, which makes for dispiriting viewing. And the real moments of surprise or pathos are just so much grist to the Russell mill. Jennifer Lawrence somehow shines through in the lead, and Isabella Rossellini does her best to enliven her scenes, but that's about where the positives end. For the most part, Joy is a tedious mess. While it's a story that would probably never have been told without David O. Russell wanting to enhance it with his schtick, it's a story I wish they'd entrusted to anyone other than David O. Russell.