A top-notch cast make the story of a woman who invented a new mop gripping

Rating: 9/10 (28 May 2019)

This film tells the story of Joy Mangano, When she was younger she was top of her class at school but now she is a single mother of two whose mother, grandmother and ex-husband live share her house. Then one day, after cutting her hand wringing a mop that she'd used after a glass of wine was dropped she came up with a revolutionary idea... a super-absorbent mop that features a wringing mechanism and washable head. With the help of her father's wealthy new girlfriend she deals with a possibly patent conflict and goes into production. At first she can't get anybody to buy the product but following an appearance on the QVC shopping channel orders flood in. This isn't the great success she hoped for though; she must fund the production and then makers of a key part raise their prices... things are about to get tough for Joy.
I must be honest; if I'd just read a synopsis of the film without knowing who was in it I'd have rejected it as a subject for an afternoon made-for-TV movie... perhaps in other hands it would have been but a top notch cast and director David O. Russell make it surprisingly gripping. Jennifer Lawrence goes a great job as the eponymous Joy; making her character an ordinary person viewers can empathise with. There is fine support from Robert De Niro, Isabella Rossellini, Virginia Madsen and Bradley Cooper. The story is told at a good pace and concentrates on Joy's struggles at home and to get her mop sold without added any unnecessary hints at romance. Overall I'd definitely recommend this film; especially if you are a fan of Jennifer Lawrence's work.