Joy has it's flaws but still a winner

Rating: 6/10 (2 October 2016)

Joy is based on Joy Mangano who invented the self-wringing mop. It's a story about family rivalry; control; making mistakes; learning about business; perseverance and sheer determination to not give up on something you believe in. Joy's dysfunctional family may drive you crazy but they play a major role in her failures and ultimate success. Her parents divorced when Joy was young. Her father lands on her doorstep after his third wife dumps him. Joy is already housing her reclusive mother, who spends her time watching soap operas and her ex husband who is living in the basement, which he now has to share with his father-in-law. They all hate each other with the exception of Mimi, Joy's grandmother who does her best to help Joy keep the peace. Joy is broke and working in a job she hates. It couldn't get any worse, but it does.
I really enjoyed Joy. Jennifer Lawrence did a stellar job of drawing me into the story, despite the script being a mess of contradictions. David O'Russell is credited for the screenplay and Annie Mumolo for the story. Together, you would expect to have a more polished script. The fact that the story is narrated by Joy's grandmother, who dies halfway through the story is questionable. Having the film begin with a soap opera may have been an attempt to portray Joy's life resembling a soap opera but I felt it was the main flaw in the script. The soap opera scenes were too disruptive to the flow of the story and came across as ridiculous. The opening soap opera scene would have been enough to get the point across, for the more analytical viewer, of how it fits into the story line.
There are a lot of things in the script that don't make sense. For example, who in their right mind would wring a mop with their bare hands after mopping up shattered glass? Why is Joy's character Valedictorian of her school and then portrayed in the film as an incompetent pushover? I also questioned why you wouldn't demonstrate how your mop works to a sales person after you've invested over $200,000 in manufacturing costs?
Peggy's personality appeared too polished for someone who had spent the last ten years running her father's run down garage. To distinguish her personality against Joy, who had been Valedictorian in high school, I would have cast Peggy as someone who was a little rougher around the edges.
Joy is stated as having been given the opportunity to attend a prestigious college but instead she stayed at home to help her parents through their divorce and help her father with his business. The scene however of when Joy's father bursts into the room to announce that Peggy is going to live with him and he will come for Joy every second weekend depicts Joy and Peggy as a young girls. It doesn't match up to the 'eighteen miserable years' he states to have been with Joy's mother.
There have been mixed feelings about Joy but it's on my favourites list because I love true stories where the underdog overcomes obstacles. Casting Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Diane Ladd will ensure some satisfaction in watching this quirky story unfold.