Sunday, December 17, 2006
Movie Reviews: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
In theaters
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Based on the life of Chris Gardner, a self-made millionaire, this drama stars Will Smith as a man who finds himself jobless and homeless at age 30, living in a San Francisco train station with his infant son. Determined to beat the odds, he finds work as a trainee at a brokerage and climbs the corporate ladder, eventually becoming partner and owner of his own Chicago-based firm.
Cast Will Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Thandie Newton, Jaden Smith (more)
Director(s) Gabriele Muccino
Writer(s) Steve Conrad
Status In theaters (wide)
Genre(s) Drama
Release Date Dec. 15, 2006
MPAA Rating PG-13 - for some language.
Review:
The Pursuit of Happyness is far from a perfect film. It's almost like watching a present day biblical telling of Job's pain and misery. At times it is very much like watching a TV movies and the plot goes exactly the way you'd expect it to go, bad things happens, the main character perseveres and in the end he finally succeeds. What really saves this movie from Saturday afternoon Lifetime movie territory is Will Smith excellence performance. He sheds his usual confidence and really displays a large amount of vulnerability in this role. His performance elevates what is a very paint by the numbers film. Having his real life son play his on screen son also help bring more weight to all the trauma and despair the characters face. In the end Smith makes you care about his character and even though the ending is exactly what you expect, you just can't help but feel a sense of joy and happiness to see his character succeed.
C+
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