“Joy” is the story of single mom Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) as she struggles to provide for her household, which consists of her two children, divorced parents, grandmother and ex-husband.

Sounds like a fun place to live, right? With the house’s constant deterioration and the regular fighting in the basement between Joy’s father Rudy (Robert De Niro) and her ex-husband Tony (Edgar Ramirez), Joy doesn’t think so as she constantly struggles to pay her bills.

One day, while mopping up some wine and broken glass, Joy gets the idea to make a self-wringing mop. Throughout the rest of the movie, Joy faces adversaries and hardships and she struggles to bring her product to the top in order to provide for her often ungrateful family.

While this story is based on the life of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop, much of the movie’s plot is fabricated, disguising the true story of Mangano’s life. For example, the real Joy Mangano has three kids, not two, and Joy’s envious and scheming sister Peggy is completely fictional.

While “Joy” is only about 2 hours long, the beginning of the movie drags a bit, making it seem longer as the audience is taunted by similar scenes of the same narcissistic characters whose attitudes could use some adjustments.

The harshness they show towards Joy, however, only fuels her fire of determination. This determination is shown the most during the last 30 minutes when Joy takes action by facing her adversaries and anyone who stands in her way on her road to success.

Even though at times this movie might lead the audience to pity Joy, her strong will and determination will make every viewer leave wanting to buy a Miracle Mop.