The Pursuit of Happyness

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The Pursuit of Happyness

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The Pursuit of Happyness

Brian Howe, Dan Castellaneta, David Fine, Jaden Smith, James Karen, Thandie Newton, Will Smith, Zuhair Haddad

Chris Gardner is a bright and talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with ...( read more  read more... )nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them.

Id: 3955409

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The Pursuit of Happyness Recent Reviews
  • SirPant
    September 18, 2009
    SirPant
    Will Smith is an actor who goes from strength to strength in every film he does (Apart from Hitch). I found his son quite annoying though and I can't stand Thandie Newton.
  • thmtsang
    September 4, 2009
    thmtsang
    Based on a true story of a salesman down on his luck, who's wife leaves him because they are broke and out on the street. He does everything he can to provide for his son, even taking anunpaid interinship to create a better life for them. It is sweet as Will is really Jayden's da...( read more)d. The scene in the men's room is heartbreaking. Be ready for teary eyes.
  • Darksome
    June 9, 2009
    Darksome
    Such a great movie, it is truly inspirational.
  • EarthlyAlien
    March 19, 2009
    EarthlyAlien
    "It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is s...( read more)omething that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"

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    I admit it, I already hated The Pursuit of Happyness before I even watched it. How could I not? A literal rags-to-riches story wrapped in "America, the Land of Opportunity" propaganda about a guy who, despite all odds, with great perseverance and dedication to his son, goes from being strapped to being broke to being homeless to being a very rich stockbroker? Ick. The guy is played by funny, super-adorable Will Smith and the son is played by Will Smith's extra-super-adorable son? Double and triple ick. Stop me if I'm making you nauseous, but going into it, there is absolutely no reason to believe that this will be anything but a syrupy feel-good flick as cute and simple-minded as its misspelled title. Somehow it is and it isn't.

    Expertly paced, intimately shot (courtesy of its Italian director, Gabriele Muccino), cunningly scored and competently acted, The Pursuit of Happyness benefits as much from the inspiring true story it was based on as it suffers from it; the series of hard-luck events that put Chris Gardner and his son on the streets are comical in their relentlessness, while the two's struggles are quite unfunny in their reality. Smith and, er, Smith, not surprisingly, have a solid rapport and embrace their roles believably, but it's Thandie Newton - as the shrewish and slightly unhinged bitch of a wife who instigates their downward spiral - who provides the most animated spark.

    Smith's take on Gardner is numbly stoic: We only see him cry twice; once when happy, once when at a true low point. While the mischievous (and somewhat annoying) glint the actor brings to many of his roles is toned down here, the master-class bullshitting skills that he displays as Gardner are the extent of his "personality." Still, The Pursuit of Happyness - as over-the-top as it seems conceptually - actually deals out its heartstring cards subtly and never comes off as too cloying. It's the sort of feel-good film that doesn't make your teeth hurt.
  • JakeMN
    February 10, 2009
    JakeMN
    A down yet inspiring story. Great performance by the Smiths.
  • holyauguste
    November 7, 2009
    holyauguste
    en 2 mots : courage et amour
  • themoreuseethewiseruget
    November 7, 2009
    themoreuseethewiseruget
    I was very disturbed by this movie for a lot of reasons!It's not just the fact that Jaden Smith acts better than his father does! Basically i was outraged by this twisted,supposed pursuit of happyness. What's the meaning of this film?If you are not prosperous or a typical million...( read more)aire, you may give up your present job and run for it,despite the consequences! Be irresponsible! You have a son to take care of;so what?It doesn't matter that you don't have enough money to feed him,to clothe him,to give him a shelter!The important thing is to chase your dream!... and who knows?Maybe you'll get lucky!I haven't anything else to say about that unacceptable "movie", except this:If you want to be deceived into believing a system-production of phony heroes,you must see this!.
  • sanchezdunia061
    November 6, 2009
    sanchezdunia061
    I really want to watch this movie. I think it is about real life situation and I like that type of movies because I am a realistic person! I think i will enjoy it!
  • totalefreiheit
    November 5, 2009
    totalefreiheit
    Una tragedia que dura lo que la pelicula... y asi sigue... y sigue.. y sigue...
  • smalcookies
    November 4, 2009
    smalcookies
    Very very good movie. It is inspired by a true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman who went from living on the streets to working on Wall Street after his wife left him and his son. It showed how much this man have to go through before succeed. It's a moving story an...( read more)d I learned a lot from it. Last but not least, have to give credit to the talented Will Smith and his son Jaden Smit.
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