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mackski

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This is one of those great dramas that pulls the viewer in and totally engulfs them. I thought Will Smith's performance was amazing and the direction was incredible. Some of the things Christopher Gardner had to go through to try and make a...
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This is one of those great dramas that pulls the viewer in and totally engulfs them. I thought Will Smith's performance was amazing and the direction was incredible. Some of the things Christopher Gardner had to go through to try and make a better life for himself and his son were pretty saddening. This is a great choice for movie night.

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Posted jan 4, 2009 5:40 am pt

Nathan_Delatour

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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) M

Director: Gabriele Muccino
Duration: 113 mins

Set in San Francisco in the 1980’s, Gabriele Muccino’s Pursuit of Happyness is a powerful film based on Chris...
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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) M

Director: Gabriele Muccino
Duration: 113 mins

Set in San Francisco in the 1980’s, Gabriele Muccino’s Pursuit of Happyness is a powerful film based on Chris Gardner’s inspirational book (of the same name).
This true story follows the journey of Chris Gardner, (Will Smith) an African American man who, at the moment has everything going against him, his wife (Thandie Newton) is at braking point, ready to leave him to raise their five-year old son Christopher, (Jaden Smith) without any real income as a result of a early investment gone wrong.

But one day, while walking to a close-by hospital in hope of selling one of his “investments,� Chris approaches a man that caught his eye exiting a very expensive car, Chris intriguingly asks him two friendly questions, what do you do? And how do you do it? The man says he’s a stockbroker and to be one you just have to be good with numbers and good with people

And so it begins, with the thoughts of a better job, life and happiness vivid on his mind, Chris seeks for an internship application and he finds it at a place called Dean Witter. While Chris sits to read his application on the bus, notes that the program took just 20 people every six months, there’s no pay, and only one got the job at the end, there was also three blank lines after high school to list for further education other than college. “I didn’t need that many lines�.

“The Pursuit of Happyness� title comes from the misspelled mural on the outside of the day care center that Christopher attends.
The reason I underlined the word pursuit is because if America is meant to be about the promise of bettering yourself and your life then in Chris’ case, why does it have to be so damn hard? This theory is supported by all the casual misfortunes and mishaps that constantly build up against him; homelessness nears, he has very little income, he faces debt and bankruptcy and it seems like if he is not the one that comes out of the internship with the job than it’s all over. when Chris sees all the stockbrokers he admits to himself, “they all looked so damn happy to me, why couldn’t I look like that?� As you watch the movie, you’re instantly attracted to Chris via his charisma; he never stops running because to do so would be to admit defeat to his son.
Chris reaches, misses and then reaches again.
But this determination he shows to never give up is not only shown in his fight to come out of the Dean Witter internship with a job, it is also shown through his fatherhood.

The strength of fatherhood in The Pursuit of Happyness has been shown in this movie by the many aspects that would affect any loving father, the fear of losing custody of his son to the fear of an unjust life for young Christopher, and then there’s the many “Uh-huhs� Chris says as his child natters on about his day. But what is even more realistic in Smiths performance is the little attention he actually gives to his son, because he is too busy worrying about Christopher to be with him and create a better life for the both of them.

Italian director Gabriele Muccino brings a different style of storytelling to this movie as apposed to the likes of an American directors approach to it, because where an American director would be likely to over-emphasize the racial division between Chris and his bosses at Dean Witter which is shown in American movies like Antwone Fisher, Remember the Titans and Men of Honour, but instead, Muccino makes the bosses out to be kind and willing to give Chris Gardner a shot at his pursuit of happiness. To me, The Pursuit of Happyness is a very inspirational film and I highly recommend it.

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Posted sep 30, 2008 3:14 pm pt

sheep233

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Like I said in my review of Remember The Titans, I don't really like drama movies that much, but this drama is the most entertaining drama that i've seen. Will Smith and his son are great in it together and the story is brought greatly onto the...
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Like I said in my review of Remember The Titans, I don't really like drama movies that much, but this drama is the most entertaining drama that i've seen. Will Smith and his son are great in it together and the story is brought greatly onto the screen. It's a very moving film.

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Posted jul 18, 2008 3:16 am pt

CartoonFreak95

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This has got to be one of the greatest movies of all time, I'm usually one for comedies but this movie is an exception as it truely is a great film, if you want to watch a good movie based on real life then this is the one.

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Posted jul 5, 2008 7:22 am pt

BlueBanana92

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I had no expectations at all when I decided to watch this. It's really touching. Icried a few times. Great acting and directing. It's very nicely done.

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Posted jun 4, 2008 1:31 am pt

mandytjie

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This is the most amazing and inspirational film. I could be ascerbic and call te film formulaic, as have many other people. I won't though. I went in knowing the story was based on fact and I just let myself experience it after that. This film...
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This is the most amazing and inspirational film. I could be ascerbic and call te film formulaic, as have many other people. I won't though. I went in knowing the story was based on fact and I just let myself experience it after that. This film makes you beleive you can do anything and the acting was pretty good too.

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Posted feb 22, 2008 6:32 am pt

luluxinhapr

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It's a formula film that works.

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Posted sep 3, 2007 9:44 am pt

CMoney356

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The Pursuit of Happyness, the cute n' cuddly family oriented drama is based on the true story of Chris Gardner. It is a rags to riches story of a man (Will Smith) struggling with his wife (Thandie Newton) and fighting for his son (Smith's real...
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The Pursuit of Happyness, the cute n' cuddly family oriented drama is based on the true story of Chris Gardner. It is a rags to riches story of a man (Will Smith) struggling with his wife (Thandie Newton) and fighting for his son (Smith's real life son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith).

The misspelling in the title derives from the misspelling of the motto at Gardner's son's daycare center, but there are many other possible titles. Such as, "The Will Smith Show," considering the entire film is carried by Smith's fantastic, Oscar-nominated performance as Gardner. He is charming, funny and almost connects to the viewer even though the viewers aren't in his financial situation. The chemistry he experiences with his son is great and is most believable when it goes beyond acting into a father-son relationship. Little Jayden is adorable. There I said it. And although he can't seem to carry some of the more dramatic lines he does a fine job in the end.

Another possible title may be "Cry or Die" based on the feeling you get that the filmmakers are trying their absolute hardest to pry all of the liquid from your tear glands. I am not the crying type, and I didn't cry here despite one powerful scene that takes place in a subway bathroom where Smith cries along with the viewers. The constant feeling that you have to cry or supposed to cry is frustrating and uncomfortable

The last possible title I have for you is....."The Will Smith Show" again. Seriously. He carries the corny script in one hand, the mediocre acting from his fellow adult actors in the other and balances the theme of "money = happiness" on his nose. But in its moments, it is still a nice, cute story even for tough guys like me :)

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Posted aug 14, 2007 6:33 am pt

rockin01

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Excellence. Pure excellence. Will Smith turns in a haunted, vulnerable performance that was deserving of his Oscar nomination. The direction is assured. The story is engrossing and uplifting. Jaden Smith makes a delightful debut. My only (small)...
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Excellence. Pure excellence. Will Smith turns in a haunted, vulnerable performance that was deserving of his Oscar nomination. The direction is assured. The story is engrossing and uplifting. Jaden Smith makes a delightful debut. My only (small) gripe is that I felt like I had already watched the story because the previews gave away all of the best scenes.

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Posted jul 22, 2007 12:44 pm pt

aluminae

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I have never been a huge fan of Will Smith but the hype surrounding this film was just too big to ignore. The first half an hour was good enough and showed the audience just how much Chris was struggling - it helped him to gain the sympathy vote....
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I have never been a huge fan of Will Smith but the hype surrounding this film was just too big to ignore. The first half an hour was good enough and showed the audience just how much Chris was struggling - it helped him to gain the sympathy vote. His wife, played by Thandie Newton, was a complete **** and it didn't take long for the audience to realise that this was the right view to have. Chris's son was played by Will Smith's own, and he was a complete sweetheart. There are several points in the film where Will Smith shouts at him and grabs him and you genuinely feel upset - he bursts into tears and you can't help but think that daddy taught him how to act well. I felt that the film lost momentum after an hour and it became far too depressing; it was all about failure, and things just went from bad to worse. It was only in the last 10 minutes (of a 2 hour film) that things started to pick up. I would've liked a lot more about his eventual success rather than a movie full of disappointments and setbacks.

Overall it was a good film, but I wouldn't see it again. It became very same-y and towards the end you began to predict what was going to happen e.g. he's not gonna get that job, he's gonna lose all his money etc. Good film, but the hype was way too big.

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Posted jul 19, 2007 7:20 pm pt

• [+] Baltimore Sun
  
  100
  The tough beauty of the picture is that it lets each viewer weigh the costs and benefits to Gardner. It's a genuinely transporting inspirational movie because it's also a cautionary tale. It doesn't downplay the hero's occasional clumsiness or pigheadedness.

  by Michael Sragow | Read Full Review »
• [+] Boston Globe
  
  88
  I don't think I've seen a mainstream movie get fatherhood so right since "Kramer vs . Kramer": the fear, the indulgence, the snappishness, the pre-occupied "uh-huhs" as a child natters about his day, the steamrolling waves of love.

  by Ty Burr | Read Full Review »
• [+] Charlotte Observer
  
  88
  My sentimentality meter never went off, and Smith proved what people have forgotten since his breakthroughs in "Where the Day Takes You" and "Six Degrees of Separation" 13 years ago: He's a serious actor.

  by Lawrence Toppman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Philadelphia Inquirer
  
  88
  The relationship between Chris and his diminutive namesake is at the core of the film - the determination to be there for his son, no matter what; the mentoring, the pair's goofy, lovely banter. And Smith and his bright-eyed boy pull it off brilliantly.

  by Steven Rea | Read Full Review »
• [+] Entertainment Weekly
  
  83
  It's a beautiful and understated performance, one that hums with a richer, quieter music than Smith has mustered before.

  by Owen Gleiberman | Read Full Review »
• [+] Salon.com
  
  80
  The picture's ending -- which is satisfying, possibly even happy, depending on how you look at it -- is almost inconsequential; it's the texture of everything leading up to it that matters. The Pursuit of Happyness, even within its slickness, gets at intangibles that allegedly grittier movies fail to capture -- like how heavy a wallet can feel when you're down to your last dollar.

  by Stephanie Zacharek | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Chronicle
  
  75
  Will Smith has the right quality for the role -- he's an easy man to root for -- but he augments this by channeling some inner quality of desperation and need.

  by Mick LaSalle | Read Full Review »
• [+] Portland Oregonian
  
  75
  Still, there's a decency at the film's core and a desire to do the predictable thing in a generally unpredictable fashion. Those traits make it impossible to reject "Happyness" out of hand.

  by Shawn Levy | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Daily News
  
  75
  You may have to go back to 1973's "Paper Moon" and the father/daughter work of Ryan O'Neal and 10-year-old Tatum for equal excellence in nepotism.

  by Jack Mathews | Read Full Review »
• [+] Miami Herald
  
  75
  The movie is essentially a vehicle for Smith, but the actor more than rises to the challenge. Rarely has attaining the American Dream seemed so impossible or daunting or so intensely, profoundly satisfying.

  by Rene Rodriguez | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  75
  A viral blast of the American Dream. It's "Rocky" with a briefcase.

  by Kyle Smith | Read Full Review »
• [+] Premiere
  
  75
  It's not often that Hollywood is willing, or even able, to accurately dramatize what it's really like to be poor in America -- to evoke not only the circumstances, but also the sense humiliation and failure. That a European director like Gabriele Muccino, helming his first English-language film, is able to capture the essence of that experience is a testament to his skill as a filmmaker.

  by Ryan Devlin | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Tribune
  
  75
  While the film is roughly half grit and half sugar, it works because Smith sticks to a tougher, more rewarding recipe of 99.9 percent grit and only .1 percent sugar.

  by Michael Phillips | Read Full Review »
• [+] Rolling Stone
  
  75
  Smith wins our hearts without losing his dignity, as Chris suits up for success by day and fights off despair by night. The role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it. He's the real deal.

  by Peter Travers | Read Full Review »
• [+] Christian Science Monitor
  
  75
  It's almost impossible to watch this movie and not, on some level beyond reason, succumb. The Pursuit of Happyness is an expert piece of calculation: a male weepie engineered for the whole family.

  by Peter Rainer | Read Full Review »