Joy (2015)

Joy
David O. Russell
released 12/25/2015
watched 01/01/2016

I went to see it at my local theater yesterday with my mom and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. First off, I usually go see movies with my dad, but because nothing of note besides Star Wars: The Force Awakens was out (and he had decided to see it with my mom when Brooklyn turned out to be “sold out” last week) and he considered Joy a “chick flick”, it was just my mom and me. Which was different. Not to mention, the Davis itself was going to be a little different; it was only operating out of two of its four theaters, the nice ones were already sealed off in anticipation of the construction that will force the entire theater to close from January through something like July. Or so word on the street goes; I can’t find any info about it on their website to save my life.

Anyway, I prepared myself for the worst. I wasn’t with my typical movie-going crowd (sorry, mom!), the theater was pretty empty (whether it was because it was 10pm on New Year’s Day or because everyone had already seen Star Wars or because the Davis is just crappy, the world will never know), but to top it off, I had heard Joy wasn’t even all that good. But I was curious. I vaguely remembered hearing about how the movie was about a real woman who had become real famous because of some product she created. The American Dreamer in me made me want to see it at some point, but the fact that I was on break from school for another two weeks and had been at home all day reading Junot Díaz really sold me on the idea of going then rather than waiting a few months (weeks?) to get it at home on T.V. Plus, my mom really wanted to see it.

So that’s how it started. Not glamorous at all. I was excited to see a movie with my mom, and that Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro would all be reunited after Silver Linings Playbook, but I was not prepared for the movie that I saw.

Joy follows the story of Joy Mangano who, despite crippling odds, is finally able to become successful after inventing a product for women like herself: a self-wringing mop, the Miracle Mop. It’s a classic tale of a woman pursuing the American Dream. Is it a little cheesy at times? Yes. Is it slightly unsettling that Joy’s grandmother turns out to be narrating and reflecting on the events after her own death? Absolutely. But it’s still an enchanting tale. And Jennifer Lawrence truly lends herself to Joy Mangano's character. Lawrence has a history of playing strong-willed women, from Ree Dolly in Winter's Bone to Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games movies, and pulls of her maternal role quite convincingly. By the end of the film, I truly believed her product was worth the acclaim it received, I was enchanted by how the QVC programming was put together, and I was glad to learn that she eventually became successful.

All in all, a pretty wonderful film. It got a little slow when issues arose with the patenting and Joy's grandmother passed away, but it was the story of her life. And life doesn't always, in fact I would say it almost never, has the pacing of a Hollywood film. So I didn't mind the brief lull. It was a fine movie, that I found uplifting and inspiring. I appreciated seeing the story of a woman pursuing the American Dream and eventually triumphing, despite her jealous sister, pessimistic father, and good-for-nothing mother. I applauded the fact that it defined her best friend and ex-husband as her "support system," because sometimes family sucks and you have to look elsewhere. I really liked it. So when I got home, all I could think was: what did people think was so bad?

Stephanie Zacharek's TIME review argues that Russell "fails in the subtlety department," that the film has "too many moving parts." While this is true, I just don't see the problem with dramatizing her life. In fact, I think that's part of what makes the film so alluring. As A. O. Scott's argues in his review of Joy for The New York Times, the film is set up as a fairy tale, "a modern-day Cinderella" in which Joy is never supposed to have a better life (but eventually does, and without a Prince Charming). The absurdly-overdramatic and sinister nature of Joy's family is almost hard to believe, and I think that is intentional on Russell's part. Subtlety is not his goal, and I don't think accuracy is, either. But he does get the biggest truth of all across: the odds were not in Joy's favor, but she managed to succeed. Go America.

Is the film entirely accurate? I don't know. Does it matter? I don't think so.