There is something intangibly brilliant that happens when actress Jennifer Lawrence gets together with director David O. Russell. She won an Oscar for Best Actress in his Silver Linings Playbook, triumphed with him again in American Hustle and is now back with the helmer in the joyous true story, Joy.
The film has landed on DVD and Blu-Ray and tells the incredible true story of a single mom with a dream, who managed to buck the odds and become a wildly successful businesswoman, who to this day is still creating new products that enrich her legacy and her family’s wealth.
Joy Mangano was trying her best to make it week to week while raising a family. Her father Rudy (Robert De Niro, also someone re-teaming with Russell for a return visit) is a complicated fellow to say the least. When his latest girlfriend kicks him out of the house, he moves into the baseman with her ex-husband (Edgar Ramirez) – long story! With all this going on, she is just about at her breaking point when she dreams up the Miracle Mop, in an this dawn of the TV shopping network craze, she becomes a sensation. The day in and day out challenges of Joy’s journey is captured with a true passion by Russell and especially by the performance of Lawrence.
The lead actress is the true selling point here, as we highlighted in our theatrical Joy review. She astounds and uplifts, especially in scenes where it seems her character can go no further without completely burning out. There is another level of power that Lawrence captures in Mangano that could not have been easy as women like Mangano are one in a million. Yet, the talent of the Mockingjay Part 2 actress seems to know no bounds, so in hindsight, we are hardly surprised.
The all-star cast features Bradley Cooper returning to the Russell fold (after his turns in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle) as a producer on the fledging Home Shopping Network QVC who finds a little slice of gold in Joy, and frankly… so do we.
Rounding out the cast is the astounding Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Elisabeth Rohm and Dascha Polanco.
When it comes to bonus features, there are but a few… but the big selling point here is the movie itself. It’s one you will want to watch repeatedly, as it’s a good one to inspire while it entertains.
Joy, Strength and Perseverance is a pretty solid bonus features that takes you behind the scenes of the making of the movie and features interviews with the cast. Especially intriguing are the chats with Lawrence and Cooper… it is so clear these two have a cosmic cinematic chemistry that needs to be visited repeatedly.
Also nice is the Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell Times Talk with Maureen Dowd. Dowd gets underneath the magic of Russell and Lawrence’s movie magic and helps shine a light on why this artistic relationship is so fruitful, powerful and produces films that endure.
Film: B
Bonus Features: B