The road to success is rarely smooth

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2016)

Inspired by real events, this David O. Russell motion picture tells of the struggle of a divorced single mother to make it as an entrepreneur while juggling woes with her immediate and extended family. Released with an enigmatic trailer and initial promotional posters that were just white writing against black, it seems that Russell intended the film to be seen with minimal expectations and there are admittedly some surprises in how the plot unfolds. Everything begins on a quirky note as we are introduced to Joy and her unusual living arrangements. Her reclusive mother refuses to leave her bed, lest she miss a soap opera episode. She is divorced from Joy's father, who has begun to share the basement with her own ex-husband, while her grandmother takes care of their kids upstairs! There are some even zanier moments to come as Joy dreams of herself starring in one of her mother's shoddy soap operas and attending a surreal funeral. The film nevertheless fails to maintain this offbeat tone throughout as Joy becomes set on selling her invention, no matter the cost, and while Jennifer Lawrence has several fine dramatic moments as she struggles to overcome the odds, the film soon becomes yet another tale of an underdog rising against the odds, only really distinguishable on account of the solid performances. And yet while it lacks the spark that made Russell's previous two Golden Globe winning comedies so remarkable, the film is often engaging to view and watchable to the end. Particularly interesting is all the gun symbolism and a decision Joy makes this towards the end of the film.