While I’ve found that Jennifer Lawrence continuously slays the box office, award shows and, quite frankly, your life—many have not seen her movies. If you want to understand the hype, here are a few recommendations.
“The Poker House” (2008)
A coming-of-age story, “The Poker House” portrays a day in the life of 14 year-old Agnes, played by Lawrence, who cares for her sisters Bee and Cammie in their mother’s brothel.
As problematic as Agnes’ life seems, the story struggles to establish any clear conflicts in the beginning, which makes the first half of the film quite dreary. Luckily, Lawrence’s poetic narration of the tale and the poignant scenes in the second half pick up the pace.
Although it was her first leading role in a film, Lawrence’s performance in “The Poker House” is by far one of my favorites from her.
She perfectly captures the evils of teenage naivety, Agnes’ longing for her mother’s love and, a female’s defiance of obstacles.
“Silver Linings Playbook” (2012)
A perceptive and darker spin on the romantic comedy genre, “Silver Linings Playbook” manages to combine a problematic yet humorous family dynamic, the tragedies of mental illness and the beauty of hope into an artistic masterpiece that hits me with all the feels. While the film depicts the life of Pat, a man in his thirties struggling to cope with bipolar disorder and a recent divorce, it still has an overall uplifting message. The film captures an endearing love story that always makes me warm and fuzzy inside, thanks to Lawrence and Bradley Cooper’s incomparable chemistry. After watching the film for the first time, not only was I amazed by the entire cast, but I actually felt blessed to be alive at the same time as Jennifer Lawrence. Although I should have questioned my sanity, her ability to make her character Tiffany such a multilayered individual simply through her acting initiated my career as a #lawsbian4life.
“Joy” (2015)
While the film’s odd structure made “Joy” not as joyous as it would seem to be, I found it to be an inspirational biopic of entrepreneur Joy Mangano, who invented the Miracle Mop.
The dramedy is classic David O’ Russell filmmaking, but its comical family quirks sometimes get in the way of illustrating Mangano’s path to success. Despite what may seem hard to mop up, the cast livens the script. Lawrence’s portrayal of Mangano’s development from a struggling mother to the Beyoncé of the QVC Channel is raw and moving. So, regardless of a wavering story, I was rooting for Joy until the very end.
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