5-star Lawrence in 3-star film

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2016)

Put-upon housewife and mother Joy tries to be everything to everyone – her eccentric mother, kids, grandmother, ex-husband, father, sister – and finds a possible exit route when she invents a self-squeezing mop. But this may just cause more problems than it solves.
Based loosely on a real life situation, this domestic drama marks a third collaboration between writer/director David O. Rusell, Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper (although Cooper's part is little more than a cameo) and the second involving Robert De Niro. It is a relatively slight piece, where Joy is the everywoman we root for while she is fighting the demands of her odd family and the complications brought about by trying to market and manufacture her invention. I never thought I would be that interested in the fortunes of a mop, but there were times when I definitely cared, and this is due entirely to another terrific performance from Jennifer Larence which, to be frank, is far better than the film merits. The other cast members aren't in the same class, although the fact that they are mostly playing fairly unsympathetic characters doesn't help them.
I enjoyed the film and it held my attention throughout although, as well as the slightness, it sometimes tries to be a bit too clever for its own good (there are soap opera inserts throughout which fail to make the point they were intended to make, whatever it was), and throws away its satisfying resolution to Joy's jeopardy almost half-heartedly.