Movie Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

Stars: 2 out of 5
Pros: True story, great performance from Will Smith

Cons: Depressing

The Bottom Line:

Not inspiring

Spends so long on the sad parts

You will leave depressed

I Expected Something a Little Happyier

I tend to stick with comedy, but every so often I see the previews for a drama that catches my interest. That was the case with The Pursuit of Happyness. I've also been impressed by Will Smith in the past, so decided to see this film.

Will Smith stars as Chris Gardner. Back in 1981, his life was hard. His girlfriend/wife (I've heard both, and the movie never makes it clear) is working double shifts to support the two of them and their son Christopher (Jaden Smith). Chris, meanwhile, is working as hard has he can to sell bone density machines. He's already bought them, so he needs to sell them to get his life savings back.

One day, he happens to meet a successful stock broker. Chris is fascinated by the wealth this guy has, so he begins to pursue it as a new career, not knowing all the stress that is involved. He learns of an internship offered by Dean Witter, and tries to get into the program despite his lack of formal education.

Meanwhile, his life is going downhill. His landlord is tired of waiting for the rent and his wife decides to leave for New York. Can he balance being a single dad with a spot in this competitive internship?

The first strike against the movie is the trailer. That's right. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen this movie. Honestly, there's really nothing left to learn. I half expected that when I went to see it, so that's not my main complaint.

I went to the film expecting an inspiring true story. I got a true story. While the theme "If you work hard, you can accomplish anything" does come out, the movie focuses on all the struggles. It got depressing long before the end with very little to balance it out. A friend pointed out to me that this is how real life is sometimes. While that is right, I go to the movies to be entertained, not to deal with real life. I came home from this one seriously depressed. Not my idea of a good time.

And, of course, there are Chris's actions. While I did spend most of the film rooting for him to succeed, I had to wonder about him sometimes. Taking a six month unpaid internship with no other income? Losing not one but two bone density machines? He has drive, but he is also a much bigger gambler then he should have been with a child to care for.

What I can't fault is Will Smith's performance. He is a powerful actor who does an excellent job bringing Chris to life. Jaden Smith does a decent job playing the son. Watching the father and son play a father and son was touching. The bond between them provided some of the few lighter moments in the film. Not that Jaden will be the next big child star. He's good, but not outstanding. The rest of the cast is fine, but many of the characters are two dimensional at best anyway. The actors do what they can, but it isn't much.

I really had looked forward to The Pursuit of Happyness, but in the end was highly disappointed.