The Pursuit of Happyness was also lent to me by my generous friend and is somewhere on my Netflix queue as well. I had no deep-seated desire to view this film; the only interest I had in it was connected to the attention paid to Will Smith during last year's Oscar season. It seemed like a feel-good movie, anyway, and I knew I would at least feel somewhat happy after watching it. Also, I do love Will Smith. I think he is a natural actor and shows more depth and range than a lot of stock leading men who seem to be playing themselves (or an aspect of themselves) in all of their movies. Plus, he's kind of pretty to look at too.
The former Fresh Prince (does anyone get tired of saying that?) plays Chris Gardner in a series of events inspired by real life. He is a down-on-his-luck salesman in 1981 San Francisco, trying to peddle medical scanners after essentially investing in an early version of a pyramid scheme. He's having trouble making ends meet and is at odds with his wife Linda (Thandie Newton), who is growing increasingly unhappy with her efforts to pick up the financial slack. Chris, trying to provide for his family and gain some degree of self-worth, decides that he would like to apply for an unpaid internship at Dean Witter to learn to be a stockbroker. In the meantime, Linda leaves him, and Chris must provide for him and his son, Chris Jr. (Will's real life son Jaden) while attempting to make ends meet for six months, all the while wheeling and dealing to get himself in the position to be offered the one available paid job extended to one of 20 interns. The six months are fraught with difficulties, and Chris finds himself and his son homeless before his eventual rebound and stunning rise to success.
The long and short of my take on The Pursuit of Happyness is that it is a standard feel-good, inspirational film covered in a slightly spicier plotline. The viewer already knows the conclusion to the story, and the film does not pretend it's anything less than happy. This film is content to show the journey only, which has its good points and its bad points.
I found the film long and kind of boring, however. Will Smith gave an excellent performance, again broadening his horizons as an actor by showing an incredible and very genuine range of emotions. I can't help but think that working with his real son gave him (and his son) a comfort level that allowed him to open up and connect to the character more, experiencing rather than merely effecting the emotional extremes that real life Chris must have experienced on his journey to success. Jaden Smith did well, too, although I'm not convinced that his performance was as laudable as some painted at the time of the film's release. Again, he was at work with his dad and comfortable, and none of his scenes stretched the imagination of a young child's acting capabilities. If he cultivated what is surely a genetic talent, however, he might be very good in future films, should his dad (and stepmom) allow him to continue acting.
Really, though, the whole film was Chris' emotional journey, centered on his perseverance and will to provide and care for his son. The story is complete and told with enthusiasm through a slightly annoying narration by Chris Sr., but it's a story that's been told many times and in many different ways. Aside from the performances of Will and Jaden, there isn't much to this movie save for whether the viewer connects to the triumph of the main characters.
I liked the message, but as a film, the movie was mediocre and run-of-the-mill at best, from writing to direction to most artistic elements. If you're a fan of Will Smith, however, this movie is a good one to see because he really has come a long way from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and his many action or scifi movies of the nineties. I rate this movie a 6 for cute but mediocre in its essentially recycled (though based on true life) foundations. The Pursuit of Happyness, however, does not pass my test, mainly because I was a little bored. The film is largely unoffensive but, in that same way, is largely less than extraordinary, gimmicky spelling of one of the title words or no.