New Joy Movie Got Mixed Reviews From Top Critics
New Joy movie got mixed reviews from top critics. FOX 2000 Pictures released their new biography/drama flick, “Joy,” into theaters today, December 25th, 2015, and all the reviews are in from the top movie critics. It turns out that they were pretty mixed with their opinions, giving it an overall 56 score out of a possible 100 across 39 reviews at Metacritic.com.
The movie stars: Bradley Cooper, Dascha Polanco, Diane Ladd, Édgar Ramírez, Isabella Rossellini, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Susan Lucci and Virginia Madsen. We’ve added comments from a few of the critics, below.
Sheila O’Malley at RogerEbert.com, gave it an ok 75 grade, saying: “Joy doesn’t work entirely, and the structure set up so clearly in the opening sequence is dropped early on for no apparent reason, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get carried away at the story of a mop sweeping the nation. It’s a lunatic “Mildred Pierce,” without the murder.”
Lou Lumenick from the New York Post, gave it a 75 score, stating: “Mostly it’s up to Lawrence to wring all the drama and pathos she can out of a battle over patent rights that pushes Joy to the brink of bankruptcy. No surprise that her mettle cleans up all the messiness in Joy.”
Richard Roeper over at the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a 75 grade, saying: “It’s not in the same league as “Playbook” or “Hustle,” but thanks to some memorable set pieces and the best performance by Jennifer Lawrence since her breakout role in “Winter’s Bone,” the sometimes-bumpy journey is worth your investment.”
A.O. Scott from The New York Times, gave it a 70 grade, stating: “The movie, in all its mess and glory, belongs almost entirely to Ms. Lawrence. She is the kind of movie star who turns everyone else into a character actor. This is not a complaint but an acknowledgment of both her charisma and her generosity.”
Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 70 score. He said: “That the film itself is nearly as chaotic as the clan it examines can either be regarded as an admirable artistic correlative or a crippling defect, but the splendidly dextrous cast ensures that this goofy success story, which could just easily be titled American Hustle 2, keeps firing on all cylinders in the manner of the writer-director’s previous few outings.”
Ty Burr from the Boston Globe, gave it a 63 score. He stated: “The movie’s a shambles, alternatingly agreeable and aggravating, held together by our interest in its heroine and by Lawrence’s tremendously sympathetic performance.”
Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, gave it a 63 grade, claiming: “The 25-year-old supernova (Lawrence) again proves she can do anything, moving from comic to tragic without missing a beat.”
Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 50 grade, saying: “Despite some quite engaging sections, “Joy” is, unlike previous Russell films, dragged down more than it is inspired by its chaotic ambience, a film whose variations in tone can’t be overcome.”
Michael O’Sullivan from the Washington Post, gave it a 50 score. He said: “Even Lawrence, in the end, is a letdown. As entertaining and committed as she is — and she’s easily the best thing about Joy — the actress ultimately can’t sell a souffle that’s half baked.”
Mick LaSalle over at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 50 score, stating: “Joy never completely loses its way. But it almost does, and it never quite arrives.”
Brian Truitt from USA Today, gave it a 50 grade. He said: “There’s a Miracle Mop at the heart of Joy, though the movie is such a mess that even it would have a hard time cleaning up.”
Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 grade, claiming: “Lawrence is very good in the role, as far as the role goes. But the script never jells; the comedy feels forced and mechanically boisterous, particularly in the crucial early passages.”
Justin Chang with Variety, gave it a 50 score as well, saying:”Despite another solid performance from Jennifer Lawrence, anchoring Russell’s sincerely felt tribute to the power of a woman’s resolve in a man’s world, it’s hard not to wish Joy were better — that its various winsome parts added up to more than a flyweight product that still feels stuck in the development stage.”
Alonso Duralde at TheWrap, gave it a 45 score. He stated: “This is a rare misstep for Russell, who in the past has sold us on all kinds of stories, whether they’re as indescribable as “I Heart Huckabee’s” or as traditional as “The Fighter.” Unlike his indefatigable heroine, however, Russell just can’t seem to close the deal on Joy.”
Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly, gave it a 42 score, stating: “If only Russell trusted Mangano’s true story. Instead, he’s turned her life into a over-staged mess of awkward exposition, contrived dialogue, and characters so willfully unreal they feel acrylic.”
Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal, gave it a 40 grade. He said: “Joy is at its annoying worst when it’s clamoring to be antic, and at its brilliantly funny best when Joy and her adversaries — including one played by Bradley Cooper — are deadly serious about business as mortal combat.”
Lastly, Gersh Kuntzman at the New York Daily News, gave it a 40 grade. claiming: “Joy is joyless.” Stay tuned.
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