Joy - A Review

Jennifer Lawrence has done it again – she’s brought to the table yet another compelling story, depicting yet another compelling and fascinating young woman. And she has done it beautifully, convincingly, and with utter perfection.

Joy was one of 2015’s Christmas releases – and I must say, they couldn’t have picked a better film to release in time for the holidays. Joy is the inspirational, uplifting story of a woman defying the odds, defying the loud voices telling her she would amount to nothing and achieving her goals.

For those who have yet to see the film (HELLOOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOING???), Joy is a young woman, with a mother, a father, a half sister, and a grandmother. She grows to be beautiful and intelligent, and one day marries a man and creates a home. But all does not go well for Joy, who has lived her entire life in the tangles of her dysfunctional family. And eventually their dysfunction inspires her to create a product that she wants nothing more than to sell and share with the world.

From a young age, Joy loved to invent, to create, to problem solve. And in the wake of the biggest accumulation of problems she has faced thus far in her life, Joy does what she knows best: she creates. And after she creates, she struggles. She struggles against her family to follow her dream. She struggles to inspire herself to work harder. She struggles to sell her product. She struggles until she feels she can’t struggle any more. And then she struggles some more. Joy tries to sell her product through multiple avenues. And when those attempts amount to nothing, she tries them all again.

Of course, when you’re up against the world, you’re going to take some pretty bad hits. It’s not long until she risks losing everything she has to accomplish something. But I suppose when you feel you have nothing that may not be too difficult of a risk to take. For if Joy had not taken the leap, she would have been left with nothing – she would have risked her future, the future of her children, every cent to her name, all in vain. If she had not taken the risk, she would not have triumphed. She would not have righted the wrongs committed against her. And she would not have gone on to help countless other people do the same.

Joy is a story of loving something, a story of having the strength to do what you love in a time when you can’t afford anything more than going through the motions, a story of dedication and perseverance.

Joy is the inspiration many may need this time of year. So in case you haven’t seen the film yet (STILL?? WHAT ARE YOU DOING??), I’ll share the punch line: the ordinary meets the extraordinary every day. You have a chance, every second, to create and use opportunities to achieve all you want. You have the strength and smarts to be able to do that for yourself. And don’t forget, it’s a special power – you don’t need anyone else to do it for you. You can create it yourself.

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