David O’Russell’s 'Joy' Inspires Anything But
By Jonah Allon | January 19The premise is daring: can the genesis of a mop that revolutionized the household cleaning industry and the story of the determined woman behind it make for a compelling drama? That is the gamble David O’Russell takes in "Joy" (2015), which premiered on Dec. 25, 2015. Starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano, the famous inventor of the Miracle Mop, the film tracks her real-life rise from de facto family matriarch to successful entrepreneur. By the film's end, we are expected to breathe a sigh of relief that Joy has traversed a rocky path to success, laden with jealous stepsisters, incompetent QVC hawkers and greedy parts suppliers. But unlike Ms. Mangano’s improbable success, that sigh doesn’t feel well-earned. The greatest failure of "Joy" is that it can’t invest the viewer in any of its characters' trajectories—even that of the headstrong woman at its center.
