The Pursuit of Happyness
Will Smith (in an Oscar-nominated role) and his real-life son Jaden star in this tearjerker about a struggling single parent determined to build a better life for himself and his child. Chris Gardner is smart and talented, but his dead-end salesman job barely pays the bills. When he and his 5-year-old son are evicted from their apartment, they face trying times as Chris takes on an unpaid internship at a stock brokerage firm with hopes of getting rich someday.
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» Reviewed by 12 people
A grim, joyless tale of a life spiraling relentlessly downwards, until the spiral is broken basically by lying and being a suckup. My hero!- CG 782035
Wow, what a sweet movie about a man who goes from nothing to something through perserverance, strength and dedication, he ends up further ahead than even he thought possible. It's good!
- zyr 218383
In this one Smith's already not great life doesn't fall off the curb into the gutter, it does a swan dive. Some are his own mistakes but a lot is just pure crummy luck. As if that wasn't depressing enough, the story takes him to rock-bottom before bringing him back. The one bright spot in the movie is his unending drive to make things better. (Interesting how his trying to make things better is at the expense of someone else, like the taxi driver he stiff's). Unfortunately, they don't show you things getting better in the movie. Right as he hits bottom and is about to come back up, the movie ends, leaving you feeling like you just took a handfull of your favorite depressants and shouldn't plan on coming back anytime soon. I'll admit that Smith's acting was very good in this film, as were most of the supporting actors. But the movie still made me want to sit down with a bottle of whiskey and kill enough brain cells I won't remember how depressed I was after watching the thing. I won't be in any rush to see this one again.
- DocsReviews
I'm not a big Will Smith fan, but this one won me over. You gotta love a good underdog story.
- LA Joe
A good touching movie. I teared up a bit two times. At "Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't do something. Not even me." and "did mom leave because of me?" If I was to fault the movie for anything it would be for the seemingly simple answer of money. Like money is happiness. Money is good, I like money. Just a simple scene of something at the end besides "he went on to open his own stock firm business place." woohoo.. boo. A little simple explanation of true happiness would be nice
- abt 80654
Will smith and son have really done it. This could have been a melodramatic disaster but the actors are very charming and very good in their roles and really make this thing work. The last third of the film is very depressing and you'll cry through most of it. The reason why it works and the reason you might cry so much is because of how real it is, I really loved the directing style. It's not perfect though. I would have liked to see what happened to the mom. I thought there were too many forced 80's references. I thought that they made a point to show the son's interest in basketball but then didn't really go anywehre with it. (Slight spoiler alert) I didn't like that they forced a couple of extra seconds in the end to give the real life Chris Gardner a walk on scene. It comes across as obnxious. (End of slight spoiler) Overall, I did love it though. It stirred up a lot of emotions in myself and many others in the audience who yelled and cheered at the end.
- bke 355107
Will Smith can act. The two stars I'm giving this movie is not to suggest that he didn't deserve an Academy Award nomination. He hit his marks and delivered his lines with conviction, and Smith has always had enough charisma for five people. But, I found this movie to be almost unbearably bleak and stress-inducing throughout 99% of its running time. And the ultimate payoff, the "happyness" we have been pursuing, is neither a surprise nor very satisfying. I was hoping for more.
- Firewater
The story was fairly engaging, and Will Smith's son did a great job in his first ever film appearance. But GAWD... what a bummer. It just got more and more depressing with each passing minute. I wanted to SEE the happy ending, and the written narrative at the end just did not supply that for me. Great performances and thoroughly convincing, in a depressing, wanna-kill-myself kind of way. I didn't like this movie because it ended in a way that didn't resolve the emotional rollercoaster that it put me through.
- Freakin Meow
Will Smith plays a father struggling to make ends meet, put food on the table and pay rent. When his wife decides she can not endure hard times any longer and leaves, Chris is left to fend for himself and his son (who is played by his real son). With all the odds against him, he takes an internship at stock brokerage in the hopes that it will pay off in the long run. Each day is a struggle, how will they eat?, where will they sleep?, what will tomorrow bring?. Their circumstances never get easier and some days get harder. As Chris mingles with his peers at work, who have no idea what it is like to struggle, you can almost feel his frustration, but yet he continues to exist among them, never letting them know what his life is like outside of the firm. Will Smiths character shows unconditional parental love, and it isnt always dressed up to suit Hollywood. They show his frustrations and anger as he yells at his son, but they also show his pain and love as he holds and cries with his son. There are moments where we wonder how on earth anyone could have survived something so emotionally traumatic. I think the extras were just as hard hitting, we get to hear from the real Chris Gardner, see his reactions to some of the scenes and hear the way he tells it. Some of the scenes were so authentic he was unable to watch because they brought back too many memories. This was a fantastic film. I recommend it to anyone.
- dgp 1689775
Excellent acting and even better chemistry make this feel-good drama stand out from the crowd. Based on one man's true story, the bond between father and son is immediately remarkable. The characters are fresh and deep and the plot is completely sincere. Good movie!
- izh 563880
This movie is a MUST see. Anyone who knows what hard times are like can relate to this movie. Will Smith never fails to impress. You will NOT be disappointed in this movie worth every minute.
- *~*Sullivans*~*
ireviewnetflix.com rating: *** Will Smith is so good about picking great movies, but this was really one of them. It was all right, but the pacing at times was slow. I was enthralled at the beginning, but the movie quickly began losing me. By the end of the movie, I just didnt care. Plus, it was predictable and not just because I already knew Chris Carters story. The supporting cast is very solid, but theres no doubt that Will Smith is the star.
- ireviewnetflix.com