Pursuit of Happyness Review

PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS Review:

Well, this is a movie that most anyone should be able to relate to. Okay, for the spoiled rich kids out here in Hollywood, living off their parents' inherited fortunes while working on the great American screenplay, it may stretch the limit of relatability. But for anyone who's ever looked nervously at an ATM receipt, for anyone who has tried to figure out how the were going to afford to make it through the month, for anyone whose parents gave them a giant guilt trip about any and all luxury items ever bought for them (okay, haha that may have just been me ...), this is a movie that will make you think "wow, I'm glad someone is telling this story. But the great thing about Pursuit of Happyness is that it could have very easily been (and, frankly, appeared to be from the trailers) a cookie-cutter aww-shucks Hallmark card of a movie. However, this is in fact a film with a lot of depth and a lot of wit, and yes, plenty of heart to spare as well. My point is, that this could have been a one-note, sappy cheese-fest, but surprisingl, it is a pretty great movie.

Based on a true-life story, this movie poses such a troubling yet interesting question - how does one move up the social ladder? How does one become a white-collar worker when all your life you've been struggling to make end's meet? I think a lot of us struggling in entry-level entertainment jobs out here can relate, even if just a bit ... I mean, I remember in college, talking to young alumni who had made the jump to Hollywood, asking them the same question that my parents kept asking me - "so, how exactly does one DO it?" What I meant was, how was one supposed to afford a move to LA when by all accounts there was no guarantee of a job, and the jobs that you could potentially get didn't even pay enough to pay rent, have a car, etc. And you know what ... I rarely got a straight answer from anyone I asked - it's the same as when you ask a bigshot exec or a well-known producer how they got to where they are today - there's a lot of the usual "right place at right time, kept plugging away, etc" but rarely does the truth come out, which is, inevitably: "I was handed my lot in life on a silver spoon, so there."

The Pursuit of Happyness looks at a man who not only wasn't handed anything, but is prone to bad luck. We see Will Smith as a man who invested what little money he had in buying up medical devices to sell - bone-scanners deemed largely useless by doctors, leaving Smith's character in a daily struggle to use his charm and persistance to get rid of one of the things, and thus be able to pay his rent, feed his son, and do it all over again. As Smith hits rock bottom, he decides to make a radical change in his life and apply for an internship at an investment bank - the problem is, of course, that the internship doesn't even pay. And so begins a rollercoaster ride in which Smith must stretch himself to the limit in order to push through the glass ceiling while at the same time struggling to pay the bills. It's a great story, because it reminds you how so much of corporate America, despite our notions of equal opportunity, is designed to keep outsiders out and to make sure that only a select few ever truly reap the benefits of the system.

But enough about the movie's premise --- the fact is that Will Smith puts in possibly his best performance to date as Chris Gardner. Sure, the charisma is stil l there, but the Will Smith-ness is suitably toned down in favor of the actor going for a deeper, more nuanced performance. Smith does an excellent job of keeping himself in check, so that when the big, emotional moments do come, they resonate rather than feeling lke just another dance in the Will Smith show. Will's real-life son, Jaden, is excellent here as well - easily one of the best and least-annoying on-screen kids I've seen in a while, the best part about him is that he further elevates his dad's performace to give it that extra level of legitimacy. There is a great scene where Will has to face the fact that he and his son are homeless - their only choice for the night is to sleep in an empy subway restroom. But like all fathers who try to hide the sometimes harsh truth from their kids, Will plays on his young son's imagination and makes the entire tragic situation into a game for his son, all the while barely containing his own sadness and sense of futility. A very real, very empathetic scene, played just right by all parties, that embodies why the movie works as well as it does.

In any case, this isn't the greatest movie ever or anything, but it works extremely well and is intelligently crafted, rarely heavy-handed or unnecessarily preachy, but quitely intense and emotional, with plenty of moments of levity and humor to add to the overall entertainment value. In the end, I was glad that this particular story had been told, because it deals with the classic American dream, rags-to-riches saga in a very nose-to-the-ground, honest way, that makes you happy for Chris Gardner's rise to success but also angry at a society that would make it so hard for a smart, well-meaning guy like him to succeed. I would definitely recommend that you check it out this holiday season.

My Grade: A -