The Pursuit of Happyness

Reviewed by Max Foizey.

Release Date: December 15, 2006
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Starring: Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith
Rating: PG-13

Many have already dismissed this film as "The Pursuit of SAPPYness" or "The Pursuit of Will Smith's Oscar." And yes, this is a sentimental film, but I found it very light on the SAP as Will's character finds his way towards the HAP.

Sinking his entire nest egg into a machine that was almost instantaneously obsolete (bone-density scanners), Christopher Gardner (Smith) is in a world of financial trouble. After many moons of swearing he will find a way to get his family out of debt, his wife Linda (Newton) splits, leaving her husband to make it on his own with their five-year-old son.

As Gardner's wife, Newton is little more than a caricature of a nagging wife. I'm sure there was probably more to Thandie's real life counterpart, but as we only have two hours to tell this story - out you go, sister.

Chris and son (Smith's real life son Jaden - doing a fantastic, natural job) are soon evicted form their apartment, even as Gardner lands an internship at a stock brokerage firm - only one catch - it's unpaid. Thus begins the most punishing set of circumstances unleashed upon a screen hero since "The Passion of the Christ."

Steve Conrad, whose screenplay for Gore Verbinski's "The Weather Man" I did not enjoy, does a great job paring down Chris Gardner's memoir with minimal cheese. If this story were total fiction, maybe I could write it off as Oscar bait - but Gardner's story deserves more than that. Besides, Will deserves the accolades he's getting. It's as if people have forgotten his work in "Ali" and "Six Degrees of Separation." The Fresh Prince can act, yo.

Smith has said working with his real life son made him work harder in the film, and the two of them react and respond to one another with a realism that nobody else in those roles could achieve.

Gardner's journey resonates not because he achieves wealth, as this is not strictly a capitalist story. In the end, this is not about the job, it's not about the money, it's not (as some have claimed) about the greed of the 1980's. It's about the pursuit, the possibility, the hard work that leads to personal satisfaction, to safety, and yes, to happiness. Not if you HOPE enough, but if you TRY enough.

Smith's earnest portrayal never fails to connect with the audience. You're rooting for him not because he's Will "Independence Day" Smith but because you believe in the real Chris Gardner, in this Father's mission to make life better for himself and his son.

It's one of the finest depictions of the oft-cited 'American Dream' that I have ever witnessed - and it's Directed by an Italian!

In addition to hosting 'Max on Movies' on Sunday nights at 7pm on 97.1 FM Talk, Max appears weekly on the Dave Glover Show Fridays at 5pm. A member of the Saint Louis Gateway Film Critics Association, Max has written about film and theatre for various print and Web media, and appeared as guest critic on various nationally syndicated radio shows. Max lives in Missouri and yet is a diehard Miami Dolphins fan. Max's eyes got misty just watching the TRAILER of this film. Share your stories of being homeless (Max HAS been there).