Movie Review - Joy (or lack thereof)

Joy is not. It’s not a happy movie. It’s not an exceptional movie. It’s a rather annoying movie. I give it a solid C. A Facebook friend and his wife loved it. We had a short written discussion about it and agreed to disagree. Can I appreciate a character driven movie? Yes, absolutely. Have I liked previous David O. Russell flicks? Yes – Silver Lining Playbook and American Hustle were excellent. I found Joy rather tedious and just was not drawn into the line of storytelling.

Based on a true story, Joy is an extremely smart gal, destined for great things, who ends up working to try to make ends meet, to keep her kids fed, to keep her mother able to just watch soap operas, to keep her ex-husband still living in her basement and doing his singing gigs, and to take in her crabby father (an annoying Robert De Niro). The house is falling apart, and she seems to be the only sane one in the crowd. Jennifer Lawrence is excellent as Joy. I had no problem with her at all – she projects a fierceness and intelligence that leaps from the screen. I can be invested in her character and I wanted her to succeed.

She’s always been a thinker and an inventor, and she arrives at a concept for a new mop – one that has a detachable head for throwing in the washing machine, one that has a wringer effect so you don’t have to touch the dirty mop with your own hands. Ingenious! She creates a model, manages to convince Bradley Cooper’s QVC guy to take her on, and she appears on the show to sell the mop herself. Overnight success, right? Well, no. There’s a lot about patents and molds and contracts and getting ripped off and Joy battling everyone while still carrying everyone on her back.

It’s a pull one up from the bootstraps movie. Normally I like those. But – while I liked Joy the fighter, and Joy trying to be a business woman, I detested the peripheral characters and how they were presented. Admittedly, this was based on a true story and perhaps this poor woman really had to put up with all of these nut jobs, but I found myself very detached from the film. I kept thinking, “This is so annoying.”   Thus, it gives me joy to save you, the film goer, from seeing Joy. Consider this my first good deed of the new year. You are welcome. 

Movie Review - The Intern

The Intern is a Nancy Meyer film, and that means it’s glossy and pretty with great sets and a heartwarming story. The cool place to be is Brooklyn, and that’s where Jules (Anne Hathaway) has her nifty e-commerce fashion company – in a refurbed warehouse where no one has an office, she rides her bike to meetings, and everyone is young and dedicated.  Well, almost everyone is young. Robert De Niro (no longer a Godfather, he’s in grandfather roles with a crinkly smile) as Ben Whitaker needs a purpose to his life and applies for the senior intern program. Nattily dressed, complete with briefcase, he’s assigned to Jules. She’s ‘difficult and picky” and rolls her eyes at the thought of using this old dude to help her.

Well, of course, he’s wonderful. Everyone in the company looks to him for common sense wisdom, and finally Jules realizes he’s a good friend who’s looking out for her best interests. He can mend a broken marriage, and help the bottom line. The Intern is frothy fun with a nice story. It oozes charm and is New York eye candy. Anne and Robert are pleasant with a good rapport. I saw this movie at a cheap matinee price and was entertained. It’s a good rental or streamer date night. No need to think much. Just clock out, pour a glass of wine, and relax.

Happy New Year! Silver Linings Playbook

Well, it's New Year's Eve and you can tell what I've done most of the Christmas/New Year holiday - movies. I love seeing films on the big screen, and fortunately my favorite theater, Cinemark Tinseltown, has matinees for $4.25. Sssh - don't them that is really inexpensive. I don't want them to enter the 21st century. So, here's the last review for 2012 and then no doubt it's onward into 2013 with Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, and more.

Silver Linings Playbook is humorous angst, if that's possible. We meet Pat (Bradley Cooper, spreading his wings as an actor) as he's released from a psychiatric hospital. Now he's back living with Mom ( a fretful Jacki Weaver) and Dad (uptight Robert DeNiro) and trying to cope with the world again. His goal is to get back his wife, and he has to prove to everyone that he has his act together. That's tough to do when the song "My Cherie Amour" triggers rage at the doctor's office, when he jogs wearing a garbage bag over his track suit, and when he meets another unhinged person and sparks fly.

Jennifer Lawrence shines as Tiffany. Her husband died, she slept with everyone at her office and got fired, and she's a loose cannon training for a dance competition. She convinces Pat to be her partner and in turn she'll smuggle his letters to the separated wife (by restraining order). As they practice dance, the friendship grows and yet Pat is fixated on the wife.

Meanwhile, the father is running a bookie business and is obsessed with the Eagles. He tries to bond with Pat and even blames himself for Pat's issues. There is a lot of shouting in this movie, and plenty of tension. Pat has no social filter on his mouth, and with Bradley Cooper's excellent acting we can watch the conflicting emotions cross his face. Or we can feel his confusion.

Ultimately it is an evolving love story and also a family in crisis movie. And Silver Linings Playbook is funny. Amidst all the angst and crazy, you will like these people and root for them to win. It is R rated for good reason and is for grown-ups looking for a movie with a solid cast and story. Oscar buzz alert. You'll want to place your bet on this one.

Happy New Year!!