SummaryChris Gardner (Smith) is a bright and talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, includ...
SummaryChris Gardner (Smith) is a bright and talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, includ...
The tough beauty of the picture is that it lets each viewer weigh the costs and benefits to Gardner. It's a genuinely transporting inspirational movie because it's also a cautionary tale. It doesn't downplay the hero's occasional clumsiness or pigheadedness.
Will Smith has the right quality for the role -- he's an easy man to root for -- but he augments this by channeling some inner quality of desperation and need.
Simply fantastic. A story with arises emotions so strong and intense that you simply go beyond all the alleged imperfections that I've read in other reviews
One of the most amazing film I have ever seen !!
This movie has certainly a true heart to it.
Now-a-days, most of the movies are full of contraversy and crap and foul languages but this is a really unique movie. 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.
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.
In fact Will Smith should actually just win an Oscar for this role.
This movie shows the struggle of a common man whose true happiness lies in his family. He sacrifices his own basic needs to meet the need of his family. He works hard and tries to
get a better job to provide a better life for is wife and kid. It is a true inspiration for all those people who are struggling hard with their lives to give best to his family.
Smith wins our hearts without losing his dignity, as Chris suits up for success by day and fights off despair by night. The role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it. He's the real deal.
"Inspired by" is an interesting phrase because the movie is more inspiring than inspired. The man's struggles are emotionally engaging, but dramatically it lacks the layering of a "Kramer vs. Kramer," which it superficially resembles.
The Pursuit Of Happyness represents a belated and calculated attempt to scrape off the glossy movie-star veneer and connect with the everyday struggles of living hand-to-mouth in the big city, but it's too late. Watching his (Smith's) performance here is a little like imagining an American version of "Rosetta" starring Julia Roberts.
There's an inspirational, hang-on-to-your-dreams message, but it comes only at the very end of a long, grim, painful journey. Holiday cheer is not what this movie is offering.
For me it was a touching movie to see what Chris did to survive and give his son a normal life. Made me feel ashamed a bit, because I have so much more and am a bit lazy to learn for the last test in my life. Will Smith and his son performed great.
Both Will Smith and Jaden Smith did an amazing job. This movie gave me the feels. Beautiful, indeed. I don't understand why this movie only got a score of 64 while **** like Boyhood got a perfect 100. Makes absolutely no sense. What so ever, this movie is a must watch
Despite being an average film, Will Smith does a very good job and is worth seeing.
Life is not easy for those who are poor and have to fight every day to support their family, pay bills, and eventually improve their lives. This film gives us a pretty good mirror of all the difficulties that a man like that can live: from the ever-imminent bankruptcy, through precarious and poorly paid jobs and ending up in the breakdown of the family, he lives everything we could consider a nightmare.
The script is one of the strengths of this film, thanks to a painfully realistic story that will probably make many people see themselves in the characters. There's a bonus here, which is that the film is based on a true story. There are some points that, if we think about it, can raise some pertinent controversy, such as the case of the dispute over the child between father and mother being “won” by the father, while the mother only seems to care about herself. Even today, there is a lot of pressure (including from the authorities) for the mother to have the preference in disputes of this type, which does not always work and is highly discriminatory for the parent. The precariousness of work is also addressed here, with the character going through enormous difficulties to get some money from her unhappy and miserable job.
Will Smith is the soul and body of this film, in every way. He is more than the protagonist, he carries the film on his back in one of the best dramatic performances of his career. And I feel quite free to say that, since he was never an actor I really liked to see perform. We can debate whether the actor really deserved the Oscar nomination for Best Actor here… but I think that's the only thing up for debate, the rest seems to be consensual. Next to him is his real-life son, Jaden Smith, who doesn't do more than he really has to, but is young enough to really impress us. The rest of the cast is average and doesn't do much for the film, if you look closely.
Technically, the film is pretty average. The soundtrack doesn't do much for the film, the sets and costumes are pretty much what we would expect and the filming locations overlook many of San Francisco's most iconic and identifiable locations, so I never remembered that the film was set in this city. . The cinematography is also average.
It seems to be saying that making money makes one a success ? This film would not exist outside of a western culture, and would make no sense to those of many other cultures. I found it kindof silly for that reason, as he is putting himself through such struggle..just to make some money...
More like how NOT to pursue happiness. Decent performance by Will Smith and overall it was just OK, with a tone deaf message in light of the financial struggles the country has faced since it was made.
This piece of junk edged out Babel as the worst film I saw in 2006, and stands firm as maybe the worst film I have ever seen. Definitely top five. The entire over-long endeavor essentially presents scene after scene of Will Smith running, being a jerk to people, running some more, riding busses, disobeying pedestrian traffic laws, sitting down, laying down, running, etc., etc. If you like this film you just have horrible taste. I can reach no other conclusion.