Joy to the World, Joy is come

Rating: 6/10 (20 April 2016)

'Joy' features plenty of commendable elements: good performances by Lawrence and Rossellini in particular, and it tells an engaging underdog story. As expected DeNiro provides an entertaining performance, but the cranky, foul-mouthed grandfather character seems a bit cliché. The tension and uncertainty of the business world is portrayed well and provides most of the dramatic tension here, at least until a final anti- climactic scene that is somewhat of a let down. 'Joy' offers two lessons: (1) Business is hard, so be ruthless, but (2) treat your business partners well. Otherwise, 'Joy' comes off a bit too polite and trite and designed to please holiday viewers. The "Joy is a magical fairy who is destined to give the world wonderful gifts like special mops and coat hangers" theme was a bit too much for me to swallow.