4 Stars — Entertaining
Although we take television shopping networks for granted today, that was not true only three decades ago. Founded in 1986, QVC — “Quality, Value, Convenience” — was a small cable company in West Chester, Pa.
One of the early stars of this new business model is Joy Mangano. A woman with a creative mind and a degree in business administration, Mangano invented a mop into which she invested all of her resources, and the gamble paid off.
Now a part of the Home Shopping Network, she has more than 100 patents, including the highest-selling product of all time, Huggable Hangers.
But David O. Russell’s film, Joy, is only inspired by Mangano and creates a comedic fiction that is entertaining but lacking any real depth of tale. Outright creations of fictional characters and making composites of others, the film feels as though we are looking at the caricatures we are in fact viewing.
Russell’s Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) has a universally dysfunctional family with whom she is co-dependent.
Narrated by her grandmother Mimi (Diane Ladd), she is portrayed as providing positive input that gives Mangano hope in a world that has stolen her dreams.
Her mother Terry (Virginia Madsen) is a recluse who lives through the soap opera characters she watches from her bed, while her father, Rudy (Robert De Niro), is an angry man who divorced Terry 17 years earlier when his daughter was a preteen.
Mangano’s half-sister Peggy, (Elisabeth Röhm), is not only jealous but competitive with her. Also a part of the family is Mangano’s ex-husband, Tony (Édgar Ramírez), whose own creative personality drives him to be a famous singer, and her father’s girlfriend, Trudy (Isabella Rossellini), joins the chaos because her deceased husband left her with resources that could help fund Mangano’s business plan.
The QVC director is Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper), who is taken by Mangano’s passion when she comes to market her Miracle Mop at his cable channel. Their relationship is both interesting and productive.
The goal of Russell in both writing the screenplay and directing the film is to present a woman with the ability to fulfill her dreams. Describing Mangano as a “nonanxious presence” in her family and business, her grandmother allows us to experience a creative and capable person who sought her dreams and achieved them.
Although the comedy and fiction undermines the strength of that message, it is still entertaining cinema.
Discussion
» When Mangano invented the Miracle Mop she was unable to bring it to the public until she was accepted by QVC. Some people believe this kind of telemarketing creates a form of “consumer addiction” in people, who then end up buying things they do not need. What do you think, and why do you answer as you do?
» It is difficult to imagine a family this dysfunctional. Did you find that funny or distracting?
» The real Joy Mangano approved the film for its inspiring message. Did you find inspiration from this film and, if so, what dream are you going to follow?
— Cinema in Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary. Hal Conklin is a former mayor of Santa Barbara and Denny Wayman is pastor of Free Methodist Church, 1435 Cliff Drive. For more reviews, visit www.cinemainfocus.com, or follow them on Twitter: @CinemaInFocus. The opinions expressed are their own.