My Review: Joy

Joy centers around Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) a girl destined to do great things, according to her beloved grandmother. Now an adult, Joy is facing hard times. She lives in a crowded house that she can hardly keep paying for and works a job at an airline to try to survive. The thing is, Joy has always been a creative mind and gets an epiphany to create a mop (later known as the Miracle Mop) that she believes will turn the industry on its head. Joy goes through a tough road filled with twists and turns on her journey to founding a business dynasty and becoming the matriarch her grandmother predicted.

I really liked Joy. It’s a comedy, of sorts, but what I loved most was its personal feel. Human, I guess you could say. Although the film is about Joy Mangano, I felt like it was relatable for most. Everyone has dreams – you’d be lying if you say you didn’t – and everyone faces numerous obstacles to achieve those dreams. You may get told no, or people may betray you. It’s how you deal with adversity that makes you successful. I actually wrote about this in a post some time ago and that’s one of the main points of emphasis with this film. Beyond the message, Lawrence was superb as always and there were similarly great performances from Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and others. As typical with a David O. Russell film, Joy does jump around from storyline to storyline within its main plot, but I have to say it was my favorite film of his yet.

I Give It A: B

Check Out The Trailer Here