Joy

“Inspired by the true stories of daring women. One in particular.”

I really wanted to love Joy. The day the trailer came out, I watched it 7 times. I still love watching the trailer. Sadly, the movie itself didn't live up to the hype.

Even though David O. Russell gets criticized for using the same actors over and over again, I don't have a problem with it. I love his main 3: Lawrence, De Niro, and Cooper. 

I can't quite put a finger on what Joy did wrong, but it just wasn't anything special for me. I enjoyed the movie, and it was definitely worth a watch, and I was glad I saw it, but it didn't blow me away like Silver Linings Playbook did.

The premise of the movie is the woman who invented the self-wringing mop - very, very loosely based on the real live entrepreneur Joy Mangano. 

That above sentence alone is enough to make me lose all interest in this movie. So, from a very glass half full perspective, props to O. Russell for having the guts to take a swing at this.

It works well but isn't spectacular - if I had to compare this movie to a snack it would be peanut butter and celery. It has its moments (well shot, nice generational story, stellar performances), but under all that tasty peanut butter you have the blandness of the celery (Bradley Cooper's character, narrating grandma, self wringing mops). 

So overall, you don't need to see this in theaters - but one day, it will make for a great rainy day Netflix selection.

If you're looking for a great "inspired by true events" movie, go see The Revenant instead.