JOY

QVC and HSN make milllions of dollars and often times have major repeat business. Most of that success is due to Joy Mangano and her “miracle mop” invention, which took QVC by storm in 1990.

The Miracle Mop, a plastic mop with a head made from a continuous loop of 300 feet of cotton that can be easily wrung out without getting the user’s hands wet. After selling the mop at trade shows and in local stores on Long Island, but once QVC allowed Mangano to go on-air, she sold 18,000 mops in less than a half hour. Ten years later, her company was selling $10 million worth of Miracle Mops per year.

I remember this invention well. Never used it or bought it, but I remember vividly those infomercials about it and seeing Joy on QVC. Now over at their competitor HSN and has sold over 150 million a year and Mangano holds more than 100 patents for her inventions. “I think my products have been successful because they have mass appeal,” she has said. “I’m just like everybody else out there. I’m a mom, I work, I have a house to clean, things to organize. We all have certain similar needs, and I address them.”

Well, so does Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro in the Christmas release based on Joy Mangano’s rise to QVC fame!

What is it with Cooper and Lawrence? This is like their fourth film together with David O. Russell and each time they all seem to strike lightening in a bottle. I guess the old adage “If it ain’t broke…don’t fix it” works really well for them and the audiences that come out in droves to enjoy their work.

Lawrence is once again playing a role of a woman well beyond her years, but man if anybody could pull it off…it’s her. She attacks every role without fear and a realism that the everyday man/woman can relate to, which makes her the perfect choice to play Joy Mangano. Mangano never comprised and neither does Lawrence with her performance.

Bradley Cooper is always charming and easy not he eyes. He also attacks every role with gusto and enthusiasm, which makes him a great match for Lawrence every time. He is a master at wrapping very difficult dialogue with rapid fire speed which makes you forget that one is watching an actor.

Which brings me to the show stealers: Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen and Isabella Rosellini. These veteran actors take command of the screen each and every time they appear. Each one of them makes you want to slap the taste out of their mouths, because their characters are just despicable. Let’s hope Joy’s real-life Step-Monster, Dad and Mom weren’t as troublesome.