Joy (2015)
Genre: Biography / Comedy
Duration: 124 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: David O. Russell
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper
IMDb score:
6,6 (152.598)
Releasedate: 24 December 2015
Joy plot
"In America, the ordinary needs the extraordinary every single day."
Movie about the life of Joy Mangano. Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) is a humble mother of two who becomes wealthy overnight with remarkable and simple inventions such as the "Miracle Mop" and the "Huggable Hangers". With her appearances in teleshopping channels, she becomes a well-known personality and grows into a very successful entrepreneur in the United States.
Actors and actresses
Joy Mangano
Rudy
Neil Walker
Tony Miranne
Mimi
Terry
Trudy
Jackie
Peggy
Danica
Reviews & comments
Shadowed
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- 11558 messages
- 6803 votes
Okay.
I actually know Russell more from his quirky outbursts of anger than from his movies, and I assume that's the same for many a movie buff. I haven't seen much of him yet, and I didn't watch Joy because he made it. No, I just casually watched this movie for Lawrence, who I love to see act.
For someone who was 25 at the time, she really shines, because her acting talent can be noticed from the first minutes in a film that extends over a total duration of 120 minutes. Since it is a biography that aims to inspire, the playing time is justified, and Joy knows how to use all the minutes, although the introduction does feel a bit long during the first half hour.
What I especially miss is added value from the direction. The colors are fresh, the decor adequate, but this has got to be a movie where I had the thought throughout the movie that "what would it look like if they just put in a little more effort". Certainly the very first scene would have worked much better as a long take, for example, but Russell needs to cut it again.
I also found it all a bit too distant to touch or charm. The acting is good, but the characters lack some personality and form (outside of Lawrence) to arouse sympathy. I didn't feel any real chemistry, while Cooper and Lawrence can form a strong duo. It feels like Russell just took the two on board and thought he was done with it, but the opposite is true.
It looks quite nice and every minute adds to the story. Also positively surprised by the strong combination between drama and comedy, which together remain very balanced. Because of this, Russell never lets himself go too much. On the other hand, I also thought it was all bare, meaning that it left me with the same feeling I had when I started the film: nothing.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Roger Thornhill
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- 6195 messages
- 2546 votes
Nice as portraits of an ambitious woman who knows what she wants and of a dysfunctional family (sometimes on the verge of caricature), mediocre as drama, despite Jennifer Lawrence's inspired acting - personally it doesn't touch me enough for the perseverance and willpower of the title character palpable and touch a sensitive chord. The many big names in the supporting roles therefore also feel a bit underused, as if you could have used lesser-known (and less good) actors and actresses for that, if those roles don't have that much impact in the whole.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Film Pegasus (moderator films)
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- 31272 messages
- 5512 votes
In fact, most of the film is everyone around Joy who says she can't do it, isn't doing it right, isn't allowed to dream, tries to cheat her, ... There isn't much 'joy' in this Joy. The genre here says 'Biography/Comedy', but there is little to be found of comedy. Only when Bradley Cooper comes into the picture is it not so bad, because Jennifer Lawrence also shines more. It became her 4th Oscar nomination, although this performance pales in comparison to the 3 previous films for which she received a nomination. It did bring her a 3rd Golden Globe. No idea what the point of this movie is. Because the so-called message that anyone can make it is not getting out. Rather be lucky that you get a headwind from everyone.
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