9) Joy
Talk about misleading titles – David O. Russell’s latest is unquestionably his worst (yes, this beats out Accidental Love in a heartbeat), an overlong slog of a movie that takes wild swings at fairy-tale fantasy, satirical comedy and underdog drama without connecting on any level.
It’s actually painful to see actors like Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper drown under such an overload of hackneyed, awkward dialogue and strangely weightless storytelling. Joy feels like it unfolds in a fugue state, and not in a good way, drifting through decades of its subject’s life without ever bringing audiences one inch closer to understanding what goes on inside her head. There’s absolutely no joy in this picture, but that there’s barely even any clarity in it either is indicative of what a failed experiment it is for its Oscar-tipped writer-director and cast.
Joy earns particular dishonor for its final stretch, a dopey and scatter-brained attempt to honor Joy Mangano that instead sanitizes, sanctifies and simplifies her until she no longer feels human.
Published: Jan 4, 2016 06:37 pm