Dec. 24, 2015|USA|124 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Comedy;Drama
Description: In 1990, Joy Mangano, an airline booking agent from Peconic, New York, faces financial struggles while managing a complex family life. She lives with her two children, her single mother Terri, who spends her days watching soap operas in bed, her grandmother Mimi, and her ex-husband Tony, an aspiring singer who resides in the basement. Joy’s half-sister Peggy often belittles her in front of her children for her failed marriage. The situation becomes more complicated when Joy’s father, Rudy, moves into the basement after his third divorce.
Encouraged by Mimi and her best friend Jackie, Joy decides to pursue her passion for inventing. After growing frustrated with traditional mops, she designs a self-wringing mop. With the support of Rudy’s wealthy girlfriend Trudy, Joy secures an investment to manufacture the product through a California-based company. However, challenges arise when the company suggests Joy pay $50,000 in royalties to a man in Hong Kong who owns a similar patent.
Joy’s breakthrough comes when she partners with QVC executive Neil Walker to sell her mops on television. Despite initial setbacks, including a failed product demonstration by a celebrity, Joy insists on hosting the infomercial herself, leading to the mop selling out and earning significant revenue. Joy’s success is bittersweet as she mourns the sudden death of her grandmother Mimi.
Her business faces further jeopardy when Peggy, without Joy’s consent, pays excessive fees to the manufacturer, who then fraudulently patents Joy’s mop design. Joy must navigate these challenges to protect her invention and secure her future.
Cast director: David O. Russell
Cast actor: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramírez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Dascha Polanco, Elisabeth Röhm, Susan Lucci
Original name: Joy