Get in line for social security, Julia Roberts & Sandra Bullock . . .

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2016)

. . . with JOY, Jennifer Lawrence has finished entrenching herself as America's latest Sweetheart. After scraping by in WINTER'S BONE, dancing through SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and doing the AMER!CAN HUSTLE, Jenny may not have become Queen of Panem as THE HUNGER GAMES wrapped up its famine, but JOY brings her to an even more exalted pinnacle: Empress of American Home Shopping. Though Ms. Lawrence has a turn with a pump-action shot gun at her neighborhood shooting venue here, she is not allowed to erase the family members and callous frauds obstructing her Progress, because this Docudrama recreates Real Life events that involve Actual People. The lesson JOY brings this Holiday Season for other would-be American Inventors and Small Business People is NOT to expect anything other than bankruptcy UNLESS you have loads of firepower (OR you're on really great terms with a sibling or spouse who is also a patent lawyer). Otherwise, JOY suggests, having an American Dream just leaves you open for heartbreak (and you'll be much better off hiding in your bedroom watching TV like JOY's mom!).