Written by Logan J. Fowler and Justin Matchick
Release Date: December 25, 2015
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper
Director: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Three Kings, The Fighter)
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: David O’ Russell seems to like to work with a specific set of three people in his past two films, and now his “muses” are returning for a third. I enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook, but thought American Hustle was ok. Will Joy meet the my rating of the former? -LJF
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: This will be the third team up of director David O. Russell and actors Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. I really loved their first film together, Silver Linings Playbook, but found myself more annoyed at American Hustle than anything with its rough improvisational dialogue and convoluted plot. I still have faith in this team of director and actors though, and Joy has been gaining a lot of positive word of mouth for this upcoming awards season. – JTM
Rate the Trailer: Two point five out of five. Beside Jennifer Lawrence looking gorgeous as always, there isn’t much going on in this trailer. What’s the movie about? Who is Joy and why should we care? What’s Bradley Cooper up to? I need to see more, just to understand everything. –LJF
Rate the Trailer: Three out of Five. I think it’s safe to say that Jennifer Lawrence will likely be getting another Best Actress nomination based off what’s been shown in this trailer alone. Bradley Cooper shows up for about 10 seconds looking good and Robert De Niro has found a nice niche working with Russell over the past few years. Aside from their performances though nothing else in the trailer looked particularly enticing, or at least elevated this to an absolute must see film for me. Biographical movies have always been a staple of Hollywood, but sometimes it gets a bit tiring when you can see the “rags to riches to rags again to riches again” plot coming from a mile away. – JTM
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Rent. Jennifer Lawrence is always a draw for me, and I’m sure this movie is her gunning for an Oscar nomination again, which I have no problem with. However, while I’ve seen Russell’s past two projects in theaters, finances will probably keep me out of seeing Joy around release. Rental it is. –LJF
Theater, Rent, Undecided, No Thanks? Rent. The Christmas release means I’ll have to save this one to watch for later on, maybe at some point closer to the Oscars. Between Star Wars, The Hateful Eight, Concussion, Spotlight and The Revenant, this holiday season is simply too packed for me to add another film on top of everything. I’d love to see it, but of all those movies Joy seems like the one that is most skippable for the moment. – JTM
Joy arrives in theaters Christmas Day 2015
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