Got out to see Joy, the new Jennifer Lawrence movie directed by David O. Russel (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and other oddities). This is one of the best films about selling mops that I’ve ever seen. Didn’t know that was a sub-category of films? It is now!
It’s the (apparently) true story of the woman who invented the self-wringing mop and sold it on the brand new QVC network. Her family is crazy and weird enough to make me think they might be exaggerating at least some of the story.
The premise is that Joy, as a child, loved to create things and was the valedictorian of her high school. But life gets int he way and soon she finds herself years later with two kids, an ex-husband living in the basement, a step-sister, an agoraphobic mom, a dad (DeNiro) who won’t settle for anything but love, and his latest (Itallian) gilrlfriend (Isbaella Rosselini). Joy realizes one day she needs to do so SOMETHING to get out of this rut in her life and invents the self-wringing mop and tries to sell it without a lot of business savvy.
This is a pretty great movie but also a very odd movie… odd enough that the critical reaction is all over the map. But it worked for me because the dialog is intense and direct and the actors work that dialog to their advantage. This is an actor’s movie and Jennifer Lawrence (broken record time from me) turns in an amazing, driven, furious, and star-making-if-she-wasn’t-already-a-star performance. But she’s not alone – Bradley Cooper as the boss of QVC also nails his lines in a way that reminds you why he’s a movie star too.
This is a great movie for the dialog and performances… proving that, yes, a movie about a mop and how to sell it on QVC can indeed make for a propulsive and exciting time at the movies. As Roger Ebert said, it’s not what a movie’s about, it’s how it’s about it.
This film may not be for everyone, but it sure worked for me and it will work for anyone who wants to see a movie about business and success… and the failures in between. It’s also a female-driven film with a great lead and character. I’d say JLaw, as an inventory and seller of mops, is even more of a superhero than she is in the X-Men or Hunger Games franchises.
Score: 90