David O. Russell can’t seem to get enough of Jennifer Lawrence as she stars in his third consecutive film.
Well, here we are again. A David O. Russell film is being released, and Jennifer Lawrence is starring in the film with Bradley Cooper. Where have we seen this before? While this is nothing new for Russell, it’s proven to be a winning formula for him. With Silver Linings Playbook being a massive hit and American Hustle receiving a whole bunch of Oscar nominations, Russell is clearly in the mindset of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Which leads us to his newest film, Joy. To put the story simply as we all first heard it, it centers on the creator of the Miracle Mop which…doesn’t sound as exciting. But here’s the official synopsis that’s been released:
JOY is the wild story of a family across four generations centered on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right. Betrayal, treachery, the loss of innocence and the scars of love, pave the road in this intense emotional and human comedy about becoming a true boss of family and enterprise facing a world of unforgiving commerce. Allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, as Joy’s inner life and fierce imagination carry her through the storm she faces.
After watching the trailer, I’m not quite sure how I felt. I’ve admitted in the past that I’m not quite the biggest David O. Russell fan so I’m already in a camp where I’m more biased. While I loved The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle truly felt off in almost every way and seemed to be very overrated. But I’ve been proven to be in the minority on that opinion. I’m expecting Joy to bring out the best in Jennifer Lawrence and I can only assume Bradley Cooper will be solid as well. But this first trailer didn’t leave me feeling very confident about where the movie is going.
Joy is written and directed by David O. Russell and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Elisabeth Rohm, and Bradley Cooper. The film will be in theaters December 25, 2015.