Joy * * * 1/2

When someone tells a simple story in a circuitous and convoluted way it can be irritating or entertaining.  This is what a lot of comedians do. An everyday event can become a twenty minute monologue (which can be irritating or entertaining). It’s kind of what director David O. Russell does too.  
When it comes down to it, Joy is a very simple story.  Young woman realises she hasn’t met her full potential and sets out to do something about it.  

Joy was quite different from what I expected.  Weeks ago when I first saw the trailer I joined the dots and made the assumption it was a good girl gone bad story.  I don’t remember picking up on the story of a girl who likes to invent things like a super mop. But maybe I have only myself to blame for that.

Other than it being the main character's name, Joy is a somewhat incongruous title. For most of the time we don’t witness too much joy. Just a girl stuck with hard work, debt, a useless family and disappointments. It could even be regarded as quite a dark film.  That doesn’t make it hard to watch. It’s a thoroughly entertaining narrative even with - or because of - its comical and circuitous diversions. It’s narrated by her deceased Grandmother who remembers Joy as a child and her already apparent talent, which we see in flashbacks.  But perhaps the clever and amusing telling of the tale also causes one to forgive its shortcomings and leaps of logic - especially in regard to the shopping channel she gets involved with.  In some scenes there is a sense of fantasy and other worldliness, rather like Tim Burton's work.

Joy won’t disappoint you.  It’s too engaging for that.  You will probably enjoy the ride even if the p(l)ot-holed route is different from what you expect; plus it's populated by some fascinating characters played by fine actors including Robert De Niro as her father, Isabella Rossellini as a rich widow, and of course Jennifer Lawrence as Joy.

I won’t spoil it for you by letting you know whether Joy triumphs or not, but the the things she learns and the last minute action she takes and the response she gets, all seem rather convenient and unlikely, even if they are fun to witness.

I couldn’t help asking at the end of it - “Is that it?!” Maybe the story would never be enough, no matter how cleverly or convolutedly told.

(By the way, if someone can explain to me the reason why an audience should be moved or enlightened by what the character played by Bradley Cooper (a TV shopping channel executive)  and Joy said to each other in the final scenes I should be grateful.)