What is "Joy"?
Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 1:20PM We know of course that Joy, the David O. Russell / Jennifer Lawrence reunion, is a biopic about Joy Mangano, the female entrepeneur who founded the miracle mop. But the advertising thus far, both teaser and poster, aren't selling these details. They're telling the non-film-news obsessed virtually nothing. They're only selling Jennifer Lawrence and a vaguely seasonal vibe. The teaser poster, pleasantly crisp, blue, and straightforward, is ultra simple - the superstar looks up into snowfall.
That may well be enough of a pitch given JLaw's bankability these days. That weird blink and you'll miss the barely released and oft-delayed Serena aside, she's proved golden. Or maybe it's the combination of Jennifer Lawrence with David O. Russell that's golden? You can't credit her for the box office of X-Men -- contrary to salary demands in tinseltown and casting practices, too, it's the franchises not the name actors who are the stars of franchises -- though she certainly helped The Hunger Games toward phenomenon status since she unarguably carried those pictures. But in her two previous pairings with Cooper & De Niro & Russell (Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle) the grosses have been spectacular given that the films are a) not franchise or high concept b) made for adults without the safety net of "Oscar Importance" even if they end up doing very well with Oscar voters and c) they're fun without being broadly pitched as "COMEDY". All of which make them feel like very rare beasts in the current market.
But how long can this team keep coming up with winners? David O. Russell has had three consecutive Best Picture nominees (it wouldn't be fair to him to count Nailed/Accidental Love as breaking up this continuum) with the grosses climbing each time out. The two most recent have featured all three of Joy's stars. Is this team's luck about to run out or is this streak still to peak? To continue the hot streak, Joy will need a Best Picture nomination and a gross of over $150 million. What's your prediction on the matter?
Reader Comments (33)
I think on her own she is still untested her horror film flopped & so did Serena,she's no Bullock,Diaz Or Roberts & Ryan in there heyday
Depression engulfs me when I think of the inevitability of Lawrence becoming a Best Actress Perennial (Nick Davis) by nomination count and a second win in the category and all likely before she turns 30.
Well, it's primarily about the life of a woman. And we all know how receptive the Academy and the general viewing public are to those type of stories, right? Still, I think Jennifer Lawrence will help this movie succeed in a major way. In terms of Best Actress prospects, something is telling me she is a lock and she may even win again.
If anything, the movie's success could be boosted by people who think it's a sequel to "Inside Out."
Why is D.O.R./JLaw fatigue a thing? SLP and Hustle are very good movies, and I have no reason to doubt that this will be one too. Sure, I'd kind of like the guy to move on to new actors, or at least have given this role to Naomi Watts, who should have been nominated for Huckabee's, but he has earned my faith in his work, regardless of the actors.
Eh. Super tired of Russell and co. Wish I could see something different.
"it's the franchises not the name actors who are the stars of franchises"
Please someone tell this to the Chris Pratt die-hards who insist he's the biggest star in the world right now, without having starred in anything that's not a tentpole or Marvel.
And is DOR/Jen Law fatigue really a thing? I don't understand why some people are already over this movie and dismissive of it before it's even opened. Are people over Almodovar/Cruz or Dern/Lynch pairings? I'll admit, I wasn't crazy about SLP and I liked Hustle, but those many Oscar noms were generous, to be frank. Regardless, we rarely get big, Hollywood, FEMALE-centric studio films so I'm looking forward to this.
I feel surprisingly refreshed and ready to enjoy this movie. I'm not sure what it is...circa American Hustle I was SO done with this duo.
I Like her and think she's a very charasmatic Actress but this casting is way off as she has been in her best roles.
Who thinks she is the BO powerhouse Bullock is and Roberts was,various genres,various release dates,various periods of time,front n centre and most of them hits on their name alone
O. Russell's Mark Wahlberg period is better that O. Russell's Jennifer Lawrence / Bradley Cooper period, even though American Hustle was fun.
I mainly wish we didn't have to deal with Bradley Cooper again.
I am so torn Russell. Lawrence I like and I turned the corner on Cooper with American Hustle, but Russell's movies tend to rub me the wrong way as much as I admire chunks of each film.
American Hustle nearly ruined the 70s for me. But I'll give them one more shot.
I don't understand why people complain about these modern actor/director teams (DOR/JLaw, Scorsese/DiCaprio). As long as the work is interesting and varied, I have no issue with it. I wonder if people back in the day complained about Scorsese/De Niro, Bergman/Ullmann, Kurosawa/Mifune, John Ford and his troupe, etc.
Cooper was the best thing in both SLP and AH so yah I am on board with him in a DOR film again. I also like the Lawrence / O'Russel pairing. No one gets fatigue when Scorsese and Leo team up time after time.
I don't really get people who seem put out by multi-film actors/directors collaborations. It's just so... internet-y.
Lawrence and Russell have clearly been good for each other, and I'm glad to see her finally be THE star of the show this time around. This may well be the first pure test of her drawing power as a star, and I think she'll do just fine. I've had this penciled in as an Oscar favorite (for nominations, anyway) - and a likely smash hit - ever since it was announced. Haven't seen anything to persuade me otherwise so far.
yeah, what's wrong? leave jlaw alone
I mean, *I* get Leo/Scorsese fatigue.
I'm heartened to look at Lawrence's three nominated performances and (arguments about merit aside) see that there is a lot of difference between them. I'm not saying that Lawrence doesn't have a type or a wheelhouse, but in terms of the projects that she chooses between franchise films (which matter more for your career as an actor than the actual franchise films) I think her instincts are pretty great.
Also, she has two franchise films going on right now. Her ubiquity in that way might be feeding into this belief (or worry depending on who you talk to) that she's definitely going to win a second trophy at some point in the future., which...I'm not sure she's going to. Remember after Penelope Cruz won her Oscar on her second nomination, then she got that somewhat dubious nomination for Nine the following year? People were talking about her winning a second trophy even before the trailer for Nine came out. It's not a one-to-one comparison in terms of levels of mega fame, but I think that a lot can change in just a few years. Especially in an industry that often decides they're going to hate an actress for a while, often for no reason.
There's still nothing like Depp/Burton fatigue.
Didn't DOR say that Joy is not even based on the mop lady anymore, or did I get that wrong? My feeling is that if it's a good movie, it will sell and she will be nominated. She does have that feeling of inevitable Oscar nominee for anything, like Meryl Streep did (or often does) for any project. However, we know that just appearing in a movie is no guarantee for her or Meryl these days(Serena, Ricki). I personally would like to see JLaw work with other directors so people can tell if she is a great actress or just Katniss. She has done well with DOR, but you honestly could not pay me to watch Silver Linings Playbook anymore. She feels amateur and too young and it's largely yelling.
Who thinks she is the BO powerhouse Bullock is and Roberts was,various genres,various release dates,various periods of time,front n centre and most of them hits on their name alone
I do. Joy will gross a whole lot more than Our Brand is Crisis. And people forget that Roberts had her fair share of flops in her heyday... movies like I Love Trouble and Mary Reilly.
Keiran - agreed on her range. I guess it's not weird that her Oscar winning performance in SILVER LININGS is one of her worst (that's so weirdly typical!) but it's disappointing nonetheless. She's just so shouty OTT in that movie. all surface. But she's intensely charismatic / interesting / moving or funny in HUSTLE and WINTERS BONE
Roark -- i like repeat director/actor combos a lot historically. But for some artists it IS a trap. Friends don't always challenge each other.
brookesboy - Depp/Burton fatigue I get, as those 2 keep working together to increasingly diminishing returns.
I think this movie will be successful, but I do hope this is the last collaboration between this crew for a while. When I bring this up with 'non-film interested' friends, they groan a little at the thought of Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper together again.
However, there is definitely a lot of love for Jennifer. When the movie is out, it will be hot of the heels of The Hunger Games finale, so she'll definitely be in the public eye. I absolutely think she can carry this film. Whilst I don't think it'll be as big as American Hustle, I still think it will do well.
I applaud a young woman gaining power as she has — it rarely happens these days. It didn't happen much in the aughts. The 90s was the last time you saw young actresses given a chance to rise and command as much money as men.
Here for this movie, and a long season full of articles questioning her bankability, her age, her repeat collaborations, monopolyzing parts while at the same time not working with distinct people (?), if she deserves her success etc.
This movie seems slightly less accessible than the last two, though that could just be due to the lack of information given in the trailer. It looks darker/weirder, so I don't think it'll be as successful as SLP and American Hustle, but it'll do well. I'm really excited for it, though.
I think it's gonna be a flop! sorry love all of those people but I think that's were it ends (movie about a mop inventor? Come on!) There bushing there luck!...
To be fair, I think their trailer approach was valid, because I'm not sure how kosher it would be to have a trailer advertising JENNIFER LAWRENCE as JOY, THE CREATOR OF THE MIRACLE MOP!
The poster however--totally confusing. It could very well be a little more 'entrepreneurial' or...I don't know, something with more oomph. It's literally a picture of JLaw in shades staring up in the sky.
From what I hear the movie's not just a straight-up biopic of Joy Mangano. It's a mix of the lives of several people, used as a base for the D.O.R. approach (i.e., a bit like how American Hustle was sort of based on a true story but a lot of it was just made up).
Admittedly, I haven't seen a lot of her film workHaving seen all of her film work (except the thrillers and The Beaver), I'm not sold on Lawrence's range: it's basically glum, sassy or glum-sassy. But she's usually very good in that range, charismatic as Nathaniel says. I wish she'd been around to work with '90s-'00s Russell. She also would have been great in The Fighter as one of the sisters.in the Amy Adams role, but I wouldn't want to take that performance away from Adams either.This poster could not be more obvious-- it is counting on Jennifer's star power to sell this movie. Her face IS the poster. She is looking up to the sky, wearing sunglasses in the classic movie-star sense, as the cinematic angels weep perfectly shaped snowflakes to gently caress and sanctify her. Well-done.