Joy (2015)

Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.

Director:

David O. Russell

Writers:

David O. Russell (screenplay), Annie Mumolo (story)

Stars:

Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Lawrence	...	Joy
Robert De Niro	...	Rudy
Bradley Cooper	...	Neil Walker
Edgar Ramírez	...	Tony
Diane Ladd	...	Mimi
Virginia Madsen	...	Terry
Isabella Rossellini	...	Trudy
Dascha Polanco	...	Jackie
Elisabeth Röhm	...	Peggy (as Elisabeth Rohm)
Susan Lucci	...	Danica
Laura Wright	...	Clarinda
Maurice Benard	...	Ridge
Donna Mills	...	Priscilla
Jimmy Jean-Louis	...	Touissant
Ken Howard	...	Mop Executive

Storyline

Joy Mangano has always been fascinated by creating things, This pursuit was always supported emotionally by her maternal grandmother, Mimi. Joy feels that lack of practical support has led to others making fortunes on ideas she came up with years ago but could not act upon manufacturing. Despite being broke, Joy is the person in her extended family to whom everyone has always turned, in the process forgoing her own life, including not having attended college to help see her parents through their divorce. She works in an unsatisfying job as an Eastern Airlines ticket clerk; and lives with her mother Terry who spends all day in bed watching soap operas; her ex-husband Tony, a less than successful aspiring Latino Tom Jones wannabe; and their two children. Added to this mix is her father Rudy, the owner of a failing heavy-duty garage, which is managed by Joy's older half-sister Peggy, with whom she has somewhat of a strained relationship, and for which Joy does the books. Sharon, Rudy's ...

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Plot Keywords:

female inventor | sales pitch | parking lot | k mart | female name in title | 

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Taglines:

In America the ordinary needs the extraordinary every single day.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film for which Jennifer Lawrence earned an Oscar nomination that was not also nominated for Best Picture.

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Goofs

During the family discussion with the patent attorney at their home, Joy's daughter is playing with an "A" shaped bell/rattle toy that is a current toy on Amazon as part of the B. Parum Pum Pum Drum Set, available in 2016 - not available 30 years earlier as depicted in the film.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Clarinda: [TV soap opera scene] It doesn't make sense, I don't understand how something like this happened. I don't know what I'm going to do. This has been my whole life, and now it's gone I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Pendleton Industries is all I've ever known, and now it's all been taken away.
Danica: When someone sees a weakness in me, I turn that weakness into a strength.
[holds up a gun]
Clarinda: Danica, you're so strong. I don't think I can do anything like this.
Danica: You can imagine changing your life...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox fanfare is shortened for the first half, in order to have the bells taking over it for the second half. Like in The Maze Runner (2014), it cuts to black. The opening theme starts playing over the following Annapurna Pictures and Davis Entertainment logos.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Daddy's Home/Joy/Point Break (2015)

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Soundtracks

Countdown To Execution
(from The Good Wife (2009))
Composed by David Buckley
Courtesy of CBS Television Studios

User Reviews

Honoring Jennifer Lawerence's 29th birthday again and damn this movie is great!

Only seen Joy once before this cause I bought it on iTunes a few years ago and happily watching again because Jennifer is perfection! She deserves everything good in her life and so does the Director David O. Russell! Great story about Joy inventing the best mop ever while having family complications meanwhile trying to be successful.

So well filmed even if it sometimes keeps your attention at bay. This is the kind of movie that deserves award nods even if it doesn't achieve them, in my eyes it's a spectacular drama! I also wanna mention its got one of the slickest soundtracks; I love this movie for what it is!!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

25 December 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joy

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,015,168, 27 December 2015

Gross USA:

$56,451,232

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$101,134,059

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Annapurna Pictures, Davis Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1