#TAGS:
cliché message

expected outcome
unacceptable suspense (developments predicted too early)
acceptable suspense (developments predicted minutes before)

#COMMENTS:

I have great troubles with the telling of this story. Despite the makers’ claim that “the craziest part of the film is true,” the most crucial details of the real Joy’s success were completely butchered into an generic overly romanticized hollywood fantasy. Let me discuss just a few:

(1) Joy is primarily not a great inventor, but a business woman and a marketing genius. IRL, she did not gave up college and instead majored in business administration. Her ex-husband is not a loser basement dwelling singer trope, but a man trained in business as well (which makes knowing the QVC guy so much more convincing). This is precisely as annoying as the common misconception about Steve Jobs. He and Joy are successful and pretty ingenious, but not primarily in the technical arena; they have great business acumen!

(2) QVC is not retarded enough to let the host present a product without even knowing how to operate it. And there is such a thing called tape recordings for the more technical show and tells. Plus, if you examine the real footage about the miracle mop, Joy is pretty excellent at presenting, especially with a presence of another cohost!

(3) I’m pretty sure the real Joy did not rely on her competitors’ stupid unethical behaviors to stay on top. (in the movie) how lucky is she to find out the leeching manufacturer is a huge fraud? What if they did in fact have contacted the hong kong inventor? what if the mop was partially a re-invention? These are not very unlikely in the real world at all!

(4) Joy did not have a “evil” half-sister. And no single person bare all the horrific traits of the fictional mother. A figure of concentrated evil gives more drama on the screen, but would probably drive real people to murder or suicide.

…

And from a more formal perspective, the organization of the story is also very chaotic and ineffective, especially the beginning.

#TAG SCORE: -7