Good Movie but it has a Few Flaws

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2015)

I wasn't really sure what to expect of this film but I knew that I was a big David O. Russell fan and I knew that I was going to give it a shot just because of the director. Also, what is this like the third time he's worked with Jennifer Lawrence? You can't go wrong with talent at least. I enjoyed the movie but there were a few decisions in the film that left me scratching my head. Still a decent movie and worth a watch but I don't believe it's one of Russell's best. I'll get to that in a moment but let's talk about the story first.
The story focuses around the titular character Joy (Jennifer Lawrence). Joy grew up with a knack for inventing and creating things but her life has gone in a completely different direction in large part because of her family. She supports two children, her ex-husband, her mother, and even her father is a recent border in her home. She finally gets sick of it and an idea comes to her after a crappy experience mopping (that sounds weird but it's true). She creates a new kind of mop and starts looking for ways to create her mops on a massive scale and sell them to people around the country. Easier said than done.
I can't really complain about the talent in this movie. Jennifer Lawrence is a surprisingly good actress for her age and she always manages to impress. Joy is tough as nails but still has a soft side when it comes to her family. She's basically the family's boss although she's the third generation. It's great to see this young woman order everyone around and go out of her way to succeed. Robert De Niro plays Joy's father Rudy and does a much better job than I've come to expect from him. Don't get me wrong, De Niro's an excellent actor but I feel like he's been phoning it in for a few years now. He gives a great performance here though and he gives the film some much needed levity. Rudy seems to have his heart in the right place but his head is in the clouds most of the time. Everyone else does a great job but these are the two that stand out to me. No weak links as far as the acting goes though.
The way the movie is filmed surprised me a little bit. The editing and the story itself is very fast paced which means that you need to pay attention or you're definitely going to miss something. It's not bad to be fast paced but it did surprise me for this kind of movie. The characters really help to make the story enjoyable because I honestly don't care about mops whatsoever. It is interesting to see what one young woman had to go through just to create, patent, and sell a single invention. It makes it all the more satisfying when she succeeds.
I enjoyed the film but there are a few story elements that I could have probably done without. I think Russell agrees with me since many of these story elements were dropped thirty minutes into the film or were used so sparingly that I'm not really sure why they were there to begin with. First, Joy's grandmother starts out narrating the movie but there's very little narration throughout the film and I'm not sure why we need it. Spoilers ahead so be warned. The grandmother dies during the course of the story but she still continues to narrate everything. I guess she's talking to us from beyond the grave. Second, there are some very strange scenes at the beginning of the film showing characters from a soap opera that Joy's mother watches. Again, this didn't come off as necessary to me. It just felt awkward. Finally, I would have liked to have seen a little bit more explanation why Joy's sister hates her guts so much. We know she does but her reasons are pretty vague.
The movie really is good but it felt awkward while I was watching it. Joy's story is encouraging and the characters are all interesting and feel very realistic but I could have used less screen time for the soap opera stuff and the narration feels completely out of place. I would still give it a recommendation if you want to see a decent story about a woman that has to put up with a lot of crap but it definitely won't be for everyone.