This true rags to riches story, definitely hit the mark for me during this Christmas holiday. This feel good movie isn’t too far from reality for many people and will show both the needy and wealthy that the path to success is certainly out there should they have the urge and guts to go and get it. I suspect that fans of Dale Carnegie and alike should also like this movie.
The Pursuit of Happyness, which is purposely misspelled but explained by Will Smith who casts as Chris Gardner, a struggling business owner with a dream, attempts the seemingly impossible competitive internship at Dean Witter all while selling Portable Bone Density Scanners to scrape enough funds to keep himself and his son (played by Will Smith’s real-life son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) out of poverty in the bustling city of San Francisco in 1981. His unsupporting wife (played by Thandie Newton) also leaves him during this difficult time. Will Smith and Thandie Newton really work well with each other in their roles and I've always enjoyed Will Smith and his light hearted comedy. This is no exception.
The film, directed by Gabriele Muccino, captures good natural imagery and atmosphere from realistic 1981 advertisements to the no longer existing Dean Witter (merged with Morgan Stanley in 1997) to the previously successful NFL franchise of the now sad 49ers (sorry niners fans…they are killing me in fantasy sports) It also embraces San Francisco’s well known Chinatown area complete with snobby Chinese day care operator to fit. I would say that the film was directed quite well with the exception of the repetitive stealing of the bone density scanners by strangers who also happen to be in poverty state. After the second time, I started to roll my eyes. I also thought that the monologue could have been a little more advanced rather than the elementary “This part in my life is called…Being Stupid.” Couldn’t they use a better line than that? And the fact that he got a job interview because he solved the Rubik's cube is crazy. Remind me to bring a book of Sudoku everywhere i go.
The film won’t make the general public shed tears and therefore may not be regarded as a great story by many except for the ones who are either going through a similar situation and/or have been there before. It worked for me. The most memorable line in the movie must be when Abraham Lincoln was referenced for his “….life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” quote. How did Abraham Lincoln know to put the pursuit part in there you ask? The movie isn’t good enough to answer that question…but it will give you a kickstart.
3.5 out of 5
Chris Tsang