Jennifer Lawrence movie falls short of 'Joy'
There's not much joy in David O. Russell's movie until Bradley Cooper enters the story as QVC TV network executive Neil Walker.
Up to then, the story about how a young, struggling woman named Joy Mangano invented the Miracle Mop is such a mess, it could use a narrative "quicker-picker-upper" to clean things up.
On paper, or in a screenwriting program, "Joy" probably seemed irresistibly attractive, especially as Russell reunites with his explosive "Silver Linings Playbook" stars Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in a fact-based underdog drama that traces the American dream.
But Cooper and Lawrence played quirky, volatile would-be lovers in "Playbook." Here, he's a button-down businessman with no romantic inclinations to Lawrence's smart but low-key mom/daughter/ex-wife operating on emotional and economic survival modes.
Even De Niro trades his comically superstitious sports-fan "Playbook" dad in for a gruff and surly, less-engaging father in "Joy."
Although we clearly understand what's at stake for Lawrence's Joy if her pricey mops ($19.95!) don't clean up in the market place, her character is no "MockingJoy," able to inspire us and get us to emotionally invest in her rags-to-riches journey.
In a blue-collar town, Joy grows up an intelligent, inventive person. Now, she's the mother of two and the ex-wife of Tony (Edgar Ramirez), a Venezuelan singer with an exaggerated view of talent.
Her divorced mom (Chicago's Virginia Madsen) spends most of her life in bed watching soap operas (enacted by Susan Lucci, Laura Wright and other soap vets).
Her multi-married Dad (De Niro), dumped by his latest, moves into the basement with Tony, who's already there to save rent money.
Joy also has a beloved grandmother, Mimi (Diane Ladd), who provides annoying, superfluous narration.
Just when Joy thinks she's stuck working with her icky half-sister Peggy (Elisabeth Rohm) at their father's repair shop, a spill inspires Joy to sketch a newfangled mop head that could revolutionize home-cleaning equipment.
But how to market it?
Good thing Dad's new girlfriend Trudy (Isabella Rossellini on a fun romp) has capital and knows a company that can cheaply manufacture the mop parts. Maybe.
This is the part where Cooper's Neil Walker, that QVC guy, comes in and becomes an ode to "Joy."
He introduces us to the fascinating world of the home-shopping business where celebrity hawkers (such as Joan Rivers, played by her daughter Melissa) pitch products directly to consumers' TV sets. But Joy is no celebrity. Can old-fashioned authenticity sell stuff as well as fame?
Once removed from the QVC network, Russell's movie feels forced, contrived and lacks the narrative drive of his earlier works "Playbook," "The Fighter" and "American Hustle." It also lacks the snap, crackle and pop of his earlier ensemble casts.
"I believe the ordinary meets the extraordinary every day," Walker tells Joy.
Apparently not in every movie.
“Joy”
★ ★ ½
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen
Directed by: David O. Russell
Other: A 20th Century Fox release. Rated PG-13 for language. 120 minutes