Jennifer Lawrence was 24 when she shot Joy. Her character, Joy Mangano, was 34 when she invented the Miracle Mop and became one of the first stars of the QVC network. This fact remains inescapable throughout Joy. Lawrence remains watchable in Joy because, as one of our best young actors, she can’t help but be watchable. But she’s totally miscast as a divorced mother of two who’s been repeatedly beaten down by life’s disappointments. This part was meant for the Jennifer Lawrence of a 2025, not the one of 2015.
Whatever you do, never speak on behalf of Jennifer Lawrence. Seriously, don’t do it. Girl’s got a shotgun. In the latest trailer for David O. Russell’s Joy, we get a longer look at the Lawrence-led family drama, and a really great line courtesy of Robert De Niro.