Many films use the importance of family as a theme but few are honest with the actual cost of holding a family together. David O. Russell’s Joy is the story of Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) and how she overcame struggles both at home and in the business world to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 20th century and conquered the home shopping network industry, ultimately becoming the matriarch of her family. Joy’s strength is apparent in the god-like patience she exercises with her family. Besides her ever encouraging and optimistic grandmother (Diane Ladd), everyone has very little faith in her ability to succeed. She is a woman who understands the importance of family despite their lack of confidence in her. No matter how many times they come to her for help, she is always there for them and willing to put aside her dreams. The business world isn’t kind to her either, even after she finds success with her Miracle Mop invention.
Jennifer Lawrence is spellbinding in what is her most mature role to date. She nails the awkward early moments when she is floundering trying to sell her Miracle Mop and totally convincing in her rise to power. She catalyzes her own opportunities and fights her own battles, going to war with smarmy businessmen all on her own. Joy demonstrated superior creative vision as a child but when it came time for college, she chose to turn down an Ivy League scholarship in order to care for her mother (Virginia Madsen) after her parents divorced. Before she knew it, she was a divorced mother of two and supporting her shut-in soap opera obsessed mother, starving artist ex-husband (Edgar Ramirez) and occasionally even her dating service frequenting father (Robert De Niro). The wacky yet true to life characters that inhabit Joy’s dysfunctional family are a huge reason why the film works so well as a comedy as well as on a dramatic level.
It’s no surprise that the film features a supporting cast at the top of their game. David O. Russell has proven time and again his prowess with directing actors and the large ensemble cast in Joy is no exception. Robert De Niro is in top comedic form, an actor who always seems to be at his best under O. Russell’s direction. Through the use of narration and soap opera dream sequences, Joy is lent a storybook quality that sets it apart from most biopics. The film begins on the set of a soap opera and sets the tone for how silly and comical people can behave in life and especially in sales. Another unique element is the fully actualized world of the home shopping network, QVC. It’s exciting to get a behind the scenes look into a world that has rarely been explored in a film, if ever. A whimsical tale of perseverance and the human spirit, David O. Russell's Joy is an empowering film that earns its laughs and tears through a filter-less depiction of familial dysfunction and cut-throat commerce.
