Contains Rough Parts, But All Around Pretty Good

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2016)

Joy is directed by David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and Bradley Cooper. It's the true story of a girl who had a pretty rough life. Nothing had ever worked out for her, even on the day she dropped and broke a glass of wine on a priceless boat deck. As she's mopping up the mess, when she rings the mop out, she cuts her hands on the glass. She is then struck by the idea to create a self wringing mop, and this is the story of how she does so. To start, Jennifer Lawrence, as always, does amazing in her role. She's done great in every role she's been in, from Katniss Everdeen to Mystique. Another good role in this movie is Joy's father, played by Robert De Niro. Anyone who has ever seen a movie with De Niro in it, you know he's great. He is considered one of the best actors of all time. So, of course, he does great in the film as well. He was actually the funniest character in the whole movie. The last good casting choice is Bradley Cooper. Bradley Cooper is the next big thing nowadays. He's done good in films such as American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook (also with Jennifer Lawrence), and American Sniper. He also does good in this movie, given his character is pretty bland and boring.
Now, the plot does sound far-fetched, and it is. But, it works out well. The film has funny dialogue, and good plot progression. There is one scene towards the middle in which Jennifer Lawrence gives some amazing lines, and does an amazing job with her character. However, there are some parts where the movie doesn't work, such as the ending (no spoilers), but it works out relatively well for the rest of the plot. The biggest problem in the whole film is the characters. Although De Niro and Cooper do well in their roles, I never cared about their characters. I only cared about Joy's character throughout the whole movie, and that's not something you should want for your audience. I wanted to care about their characters, yeah, but I just didn't. If the characters would've been more rounded, or interesting, than this movie would be receiving a lot of better reviews from anyone and everyone. So, despite its rough ending, and stale characters, I still thought Joy was a pretty decent movie. I would give Joy a B, or a 7 out of 10.