Handing out roles to friends is really unappealing

Rating: 5/10 (1 January 2016)

First of all, I just want to mention that I was disappointed even before I saw the movie, when I realized that this is the third time David O. Russell is making a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and second time with De Niro and the other two all together. It just gives off a "me and my buddies made a movie and you have to see it, mostly because we're all the rage nowadays" vibe. Does David O. Russell even knows how to direct a movie without these artists? Does he realize that as fans we're getting nauseous of his christophernolaning the movies he directs?
Factoring this throughout the movie you have a feel that someone has been miscast, a feeling that is even stronger because of the uneven pace of the movie. Parts of Joy are happening fast and in an incomprehensible fashion, while the rest of the movie is a family drama with no obvious or superficial emotional ties between each other.
It's really hard to pinpoint what is wrong with the movie, and you constantly compare it with the Silver Linings Playbook even though the two movies are worlds apart in aspect of the story, and yet, there's no way you can escape the comparison, when all faces are familiar. As a result of this the viewer is left with the feeling that no actor was rightly cast or good for the role even though their performances are solid, and when I say solid I mean solid as much as the poorly written script allowed them to be at their best.
So maybe working with the same people over and over again is not the best idea. It limits audience to think inside the box and alters expectations.