3 Movies Like Joy (2024)

Chasing the feel of watching Joy ? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.

Given the current tension around reproductive health issues, it should be no surprise that Joy might feel rather tame. To a certain extent, it is, as in vitro fertilization doesn’t have the same controversies compared to abortion. But it does hold some of the same questions, asked through straightforward dialogue from screenwriter Jack Thorne and an effective, if a bit by-the-numbers approach from director Ben Taylor. With strong performances from Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie, and James Norton, Joy does have a tinge of schmaltz in its approach, but nevertheless celebrates the real life creators and the believers that made IVF all possible, in spite of the fear surrounding the then-new technology.

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1. Gaea Girls, 2000

When caught between taking pro wrestling too seriously and looking at it like cosplay martial arts, I lean towards the latter precisely because of cultures like this. This documentary gets in the weeds of starry-eyed trainee aspirations, as well as the physical and psychological disfigurement of those dreams that come one dropkick to the face at a time. Saika Takeuchi getting to debut doesn’t even feel like a victory at all. I wonder how much of this only happened to the extent that it did because there were cameras present; then again, I try not to think about this documentary too much.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Chigusa Nagayo, Hisako Sasaki, Kaoru Maeda, Meiko Satomura, Saika Takeuchi, Yuka Sugiyama

Director: Jano Williams, Kim Longinotto

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2. Sugarcane, 2024

	
Everything about Sugarcane is arresting, whether it’s the epic shots of the sweeping reservation (“Canada is our land,” one native announces), the emotional moments shared by survivors of the abusive residential schools, or the damning discoveries they find in an investigation into the Catholic priests. Every second of it is sure to shock and infuriate. Not everything is tragic though. There are slivers of hope, especially from the independently assembled team leading the investigation. The police are apathetic and the suspects are evasive, but despite the deep trauma, pain, and violence the community of Sugarcane has gone through, they persist.Genre: Documentary
Actor: Charlene Belleau, Chief Willie Sellars, Ed Archie Noisecat, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Willie Sellars
Director: Emily Kassie,  Julian Brave NoiseCat
Rating: R

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3. LaRoy, Texas, 2024

	
Sometimes, especially when you’ve gone without it for so long, you would do anything for a shred of respect. LaRoy, Texas depicts exactly that, with a store owner Ray being so unwilling to stand up for himself that his wife cheats on him with his brother, who steals from the family business. It's a terrible situation to be in, of course, but it's played out in a dry, comedic way, as detective-wannabe Skip pokes on the wound when trying his best to solve the case, and as each surprise reveals how terribly incompetent the small town deals with things. While it doesn't quite compare to the neo-Westerns of Coen brothers it’s inspired by, LaRoy, Texas is both fun and tragic, and a promising debut for writer-director Shane Atkinson.Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Actor: A.J. Buckley, Alex Knight, Bob Clendenin, Brad Leland, Brannon Cross, Darcy Shean, Dylan Baker, Emily Pendergast, Galadriel Stineman, Ian A. Hudson, John Magaro, Matthew Del Negro, Megan Stevenson, Mimi Fletcher, Rio Alexander, Steve Zahn, Teagan Ireland, Vic Browder
Director: Shane Atkinson

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