The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Chris Gardner is struggling in life to live up his tax expenses and other things. His wife now leaves him with his son. Chris will do what ever it takes to pay his expenses and to get a new job.

Will Smith is a great actor, now taking serious roles. His acting, along with Thandie Newton and Jaden Smith, were great. This film is based on a true story by the life of Chris Garner who struggles with his life and is now a multi-millionaire.

Although this film is depressing in many points, Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, lifts up the screen. Thomas Jefferson says we need to pursue happiness. That's what Chris Gardner does. He never gives up. He could even inspire some people.

This is a good, uplifting film. Great acting and has a great message. This will be a good family film and has it's father-son moments.

Fmovies: No one would make a movie about a guy struggling to succeed who doesn't ultimately succeed. Certainly, no one would make a Will Smith movie about a guy who breaks under the strain of his difficult life, abandons his child and dies. That's just not going to happen. And because we know that -- because we've seen more than one movie in our lives -- "The Pursuit of Happiness" has a particular challenge: To take the real-life rags-to-riches story of stockbroker Chris Gardner, a story with a preordained happy ending, and imbue it with tension and suspense.

The great surprise of the picture is that it's not corny. It may have seemed that way from the trailer: Will Smith tells his son, "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something -- even me." But in context, even that moment isn't cloying. The beauty of the film is its honesty. In its outlines, it's nothing like the usual success story depicted on screen, in which, after a reasonable interval of disappointment, success arrives wrapped in a ribbon and a bow. Instead, this success story follows the pattern most common in life -- it chronicles a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats, missed opportunities, sure things that didn't quite happen, all of which are accompanied by a concomitant accretion of barely perceptible victories that gradually amount to something. In other words, it all feels real.

Gabriele Muccino ("L'Ultimo Bacio") directed it, and his fine Italian hand can be detected in Andrea Guerra's score, with its Italianate wistfulness and whimsicality, and in Muccino's very European enjoyment of American poverty and desperation. He finds both on the streets of San Francisco -- circa 1981, in this case, but some things don't change -- and he films them in a way that we're always aware: Our hero works hard. He's doing everything he can, and he has a son he is raising on his own. Yet even without a false move on his part, just an extra push of bad luck, he might land on those streets, and with such a thud he might never rise.

As in all rags-to-riches tales, we find the protagonist, Chris, unappreciated and looked down upon at the start. He is struggling to make a go of it by selling bone-density scanners and spends his days lugging around a thing that looks like a movie projector case and hearing doctors tell him they're not interested. His wife disdains him. Actually, the treatment of the wife is the first hint that "The Pursuit of Happiness" is going to be an usually uncompromising movie. The wife (Thandie Newton) is a poisonous harpie, with no redeeming traits. The filmmakers are not messing around: Chris has it bad.

In fact, he is an extraordinary man, but no one is paying attention to him long enough to notice. He decides he wants to get an internship as a stockbroker for Dean Witter and, realizing that his resume looks weak, he sets out to meet the man in charge and say a few words on his own behalf. Throughout the film, had Chris had just a little more pride and a little less intelligence, he would blow it. But he remains friendly and resilient, never indulging in anger, never letting anyone else's mistaken perception of him wound him at his core. He stays fixed on his objective and warm in his response to the world -- and even then, things don't improve right away.

Having proceeded to establish Chris as a great guy, "The Pursuit of Happiness" puts him through hell. The wife leaving is just the

This is one of the best films of this year. For a year that was fueled by controversy and crap, it was nice to finally see a film that had a true heart to it. From the opening scene to the end, I was so moved by the love that Will Smith has for his son. Basically, if you see this movie and walk out of it feeling nothing, there is something that is very wrong with you. Loved this movie, it's the perfect movie to end the year with. The best part was after the movie, my friends and I all got up and realized that this movie had actually made the four of us tear up! It's an amazing film and if Will Smith doesn't get at least an Oscar Nom, then the Oscars will just suck. In fact Will Smith should actually just win an Oscar for this role.!!! I loved this movie!!!! Everybody needs to see especially the people in this world that take everything for granted, watch this movie, it will change you!

The Pursuit of Happyness fmovies. I was involved with one of the first test audiences almost a year ago, and came away quite impressed with the acting performances and heartfelt punch of Pursuit of Happiness. This is easily one of Smith's best films, as he pours his heart and soul into the main character. While the plot may remain a bit transparent, it leaves you asking the question of yourself - how long would you keep battling to get what you really want out of life? I plan on seeing the film again when it releases to the general public, and am very interested to see what changes were made after running it through the test screenings. As I saw it then, it needed very few, if any, changes.

If you ever wanted to see a movie that portrayed what really makes a man, then you must see this movie.

Forget Stalone. Forget Arnold. Forget Bond. Forget all those romantic comedy whimps. Bruce Willis never had to make this many life threatening decisions in Die Hard.

Will Smith gives a better performance of toughness here than he did portraying Muhammed Ali.

This movie is raw. This movie will force you to examine your manhood. See if you can look in the mirror after watching this film.

Fathers, don't let the PG-13 rating fool you. This movie is not for kids. If you let your child see this movie you may regret it. Your child may never be able to look at you the same way again. Your child will wonder why you are not more like Chris Gardner.

My husband and I had an opportunity to attend a screener of this movie last night. We had seen several commercials and a trailer for the film and we had high hopes, we were not disappointed. Many times "inspired by" films feel like hard sells or bids for Oscar glory. "Pursuit of Happiness" is none of that. This is an honest, meaningful film that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre. The viewer becomes fully invested in the struggles of Chris Gardner and his son. Will and Jadyn Smith deserve huge kudos. The real-life father and son dynamic enriched the film and don't know if other actors could have been as powerful. Be warned, there are several tissue inducing moments. This movie is well worth a ticket!