Hard work, dedication, and persistence. Those are the three traits that would best describe the main character in the comedic drama Joy. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, and Bradley Cooper, Joy tells the true story of Joy Mangano and her triumphs and hardships as she struggles to support her family and become an inventor. She founds a business on her idea of the Miracle Mop, which is a self wringing contraption that is even able to be put in the washing machine. Joy finds herself lost in the world of endless companies turning her away and must travel down a long, winding road in order to reach her dreams.

This movie is listed as a comedy as well as a drama. The drama category makes sense, especially due to the fact that Joy continuously describes her family as complicated and has her parents as well as her ex-husband living in the same house as her and her children. She’s close to bankruptcy for a good portion of the film and often handles things with a strong amount of emotion, which, considering her living situation, it would be hard not to. But as for comedy, I don’t see the reason for that description. This is a film that is based on a true story, and that in itself is clearly lacking on the comedic level. And while there were a few somewhat funny moments, I don’t recall laughing out loud in my seat at all.

But that isn’t to say that I did not enjoy the film. The film moved a bit too slowly for my liking, but that did make it more realistic. Dreams don’t happen overnight, and Joy proved that quite clearly in her story of loss and triumph. The amount of failures that occur, while they seem overdone, are actually a lot more likely to happen than the way Hollywood normally portrays stories of success. It usually is done with one bad fall, then snap, there’s a miracle, and someone’s a billionaire. But for Joy, her story accurately displays the feeling of being told no over and over again to almost the point of completely giving up.

As for the acting, Jennifer Lawrence proves once again to be a stellar actress, with a performance full of raw emotion and persistence in a world that is constantly trying to bring her down. Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro have remarkable roles as well, and add to the story by bringing out certain traits in their individual characters.

Overall, Joy is a film that realistically shows that even when you get knocked down again and again, if you are dedicated and persistent, your ideas can come to life and eventually change the world.