The trailer for the new David O. Russel movie, Joy, is here, and it looks gripping. It's Jennifer Lawrence's third movie with the director, and we're always thrilled to see her. But ... can we quibble just a bit about how she's playing a 40-year-old woman?
I was so with this film when I watched the trailer. It looks like an emotional juggernaut of a drama about a 20-something woman who gets married at some point and maybe has a kid ... ? (The trailer's more about creating a mood than divulging specifics.) And then I read Russell's description of Joy: "I wanted to do an epic, unexpected story about the interior life of one woman’s soul, from the ages of 10 to 40."
The character is loosely based on Joy Mangano, who as a single mother invented the Miracle Mop and Hugable Hangers, among other things.
Well, I'm all for epic, unexpected stories about the interior life of women's souls. I'm thrilled that we'll have another female-driven movie out there. But geez Louise, Lawrence is only 24 years old! She plays a 40-year-old at some point?!?
Okay, so when you tell these age-spanning stories, there's always the problem of finding someone who is believable as a 20-year-old and a 40-year-old.
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But we almost wish younger actresses would protest against this kind of casting by refusing to play older characters, or opposite much-older men (ahem, Emma Stone). On the other hand, why should younger actresses have to take that on, just as their careers are heating up? I can't blame any of them for snatching whatever meaty roles they're offered.
It's the directors and producers (mostly guys, let's face it) who really need to be called out.
Clearly Russell likes working with the same people over and over again (Bradley Cooper is in Joy, too) because they can all speak in shorthand or whatever. And JLaw is an incredibly talented, skilled, mature actress we can't get enough of. But why didn't he cast another actress he's worked with before, Amy Adams? She actually is 40 and could easily play younger. She just did it in Big Eyes.
Or he could have cast:
Christina Hendricks (40)
Eva Longoria (40)
Drew Barrymore (40)
Kate Beckinsale (41)
Winona Ryder (43)
Kate Winselt (39)
Kate Hudson (36)
I'm not saying these actresses would be PERFECT for the role. I'm just naming a few age-appropriate actresses off the top of my head who could play younger. You know, this older-actress allergy going around Hollywood is really getting, well, OLD.
Come on, guys, we're ready to see "older" women on the big screen. We promise we can take it.
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Image via 20th Century Fox