I once heard it said that the 2005 remake of “Bewitched”—starring a woefully mismatched Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman—would have been a trainwreck, except that no one involved thought to “spring for the actual train.” “Joy,” helmed by the ever prolific David O. Russell, was also missing a train station, tracks and anyone to drive the damn thing. It’s a movie that loses its way early and stays lost—a mess of half-baked ideas and leitmotifs, discarded subplots, and actors working very hard to remind us of David O.’s earlier, better movies.

“Joy” is Russell’s first total disaster, but it has exactly one redeeming quality: Jennifer Lawrence. The “Hunger Games” actress is as accomplished in the role as we’ve come to expect, but it raises an interesting question: How do you evaluate an actor in a movie that fundamentally wastes her talent? This is the director’s third consecutive film with Lawrence, following “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” but her effortless charm can’t hide the fact that she’s incredibly miscast: Lawrence is about a decade too young for her character. Mangano was 34 when she patented the Miracle Mop. Lawrence is was just 23 when she signed onto “Joy.”

Nominations are coming Thursday — and while everyone loves Lawrence, here’s why she shouldn’t get the nod this time