The Pursuit of Happyness

Name: The Pursuit of Happyness
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: December 15, 2006
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Jaden Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Will Smith

2006

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 392 Ratings

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 392 Ratings

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The Pursuit Of Happyness

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 15, 2006 | PG-13

Starring: Jaden Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Will Smith

Summary: Chris 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, includingChris 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, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them. [Sony]… Expand

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Genre(s): Biography, Drama

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 117 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Michael Sragow

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. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

It's a beautiful and understated performance, one that hums with a richer, quieter music than Smith has mustered before. Read full review

Michael Phillips

While the film is roughly half grit and half sugar, it works because Smith sticks to a tougher, more rewarding recipe of 99.9 percent grit and only .1 percent sugar. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

It's the same old bootstraps story, an American dream artfully told, skillfully sold. To that calculated end, the filmmaking is seamless, unadorned, transparent, the better to serve Mr. Smith's warm expressiveness. Read full review

Kirk Honeycutt

This is a slick studio production with a huge movie star and top professionals occupying every production role so that the polish of this well-made film makes even homelessness look neat and tidy. Read full review

Empire Chris Hewitt (1)

An admirably unsentimental biopic with an excellent central performance, but it doesn't impact as strongly as it could. Read full review

Pete Vonder Haar

Especially to anyone with kids, the film packs some punch. Apart from that, The Pursuit of Happyness is emotionally manipulative and way too glossy to really hit home. Read full review

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User Reviews

[Anonymous]

Dec 19, 2006

I have seen all of his movies but Ali; with that said, this is his greatest role. He truly was Chris Gardner. I have never been so touched by or thrilled for a character in my life. Kudos, Mr. Smith!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

ChiliF.

Jun 17, 2007

It's a very good movie. It was very inspiring to see him keep his clothes clean even when he had to live in filth.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Jondoe

Mar 2, 2009

great movie. anyone who disagrees is a blind fool. it shows how real men take care of their kids. also a great movie on learning how to be a father and getting to know your kid. i don't even want to get into the motivational and other aspects of the movie. great acting jobs all around.

3 of 5 users found this helpful

VaiKelly

Mar 24, 2011

I gave this movie 8 out of 10, for the simple reason and premise that it is based upon a real story, and that the performances are strong and true to its overall content. Will Smith is NOT the revelation of this movie, it is his son, Jaden. Strange irony for me to say this, because Smith isI gave this movie 8 out of 10, for the simple reason and premise that it is based upon a real story, and that the performances are strong and true to its overall content. Will Smith is NOT the revelation of this movie, it is his son, Jaden. Strange irony for me to say this, because Smith is one of the most talented actors/performers alive and is a personal favorite of mine. Director Gabriele Muccino hasn't done anything extraordinary, but has simply made an ordinary, real-life story extraordinarily uplifting. And he has his actors as well as Andrea Guerra's moving background score to thank. Probably disrespectful for me to say this, considering that a movie's success/failure depends entirely on its direction and concept. So let me retract my earlier line about the director! Smith's Chris Gardner might probably be the unluckiest guy in the world, as he runs around with what could safely be described as 'an object from outer space,' but does so with such urgency that even his own wife, played horribly by Thandie Newton, thinks it's a useless idea. Funny she should think that, considering she moved in with Chris in a new house because the objects (portable bone density scanners) once seemed highly potential for their future. Newton's Linda Gardner is a bit too unnatural and hurried for me. If she had reasons to be so cross and frustrated with Chris and their normal life, she probably could have done with a few more scenes, either shadows or memories from the past or even the present. But Linda felt a bit too hyper anxious and helpless. Jaden Smith doesn't disappoint in his movie debut - the kid can act! And what's more, he does it seemingly effortlessly. I wonder if Smith was just stunned and speechless during the outtakes, because sometimes, Junior Smith can be so impeccably natural. What moved me equally was the beautiful score by Andrea Guerra - it was just the foundation that the movie needed. It was calm, subdued, powerful, and emotional. When, in the scene where Chris is told that he's got a job and he gets out of the office to enjoy a rare moment of sheer happiness and even personal vindication, the background emphatic score lifts the spirit up as much as Smith's precise and wonderful performance does. All in all, it was a wonderful movie in life lessons. And lastly, before I forget, I enjoyed the Happyness part, the graffitti on the wall that Chris Gardner was so conscious and expressive about. Funny he should be so insightful and verbal about such typos when his own life was a train wreck going downhill! This is the magic of the movie - it is the painful irony of life, and the eventual joy of true hard-earned satisfaction in the pursuit of real 'happyness.'… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Jan 2, 2017

An undeniably inspirational story, The Pursuit of Happyness is a good film that, even if flawed, is a good film that provides great entertainment. Largely well-written, the film stars Will Smith as Chris Gardner. A man who is coping with his wife leaving him, raising a son, and beingAn undeniably inspirational story, The Pursuit of Happyness is a good film that, even if flawed, is a good film that provides great entertainment. Largely well-written, the film stars Will Smith as Chris Gardner. A man who is coping with his wife leaving him, raising a son, and being homeless, Chris partakes in an internship program to become a stock broker. A real life fairy tale, The Pursuit of Happyness shows the American dream coming true with Chris working hard and being rewarded for this effort. While it is sentimental and safe along the way, it is hard to deny that the film is often incredibly powerful and thoroughly engaging throughout.

Pairing Will Smith with his son Jaden in the lead roles, one of the greatest assets of the film is the father-son relationship. In the role of the son, Jaden Smith is adorable. With childish jokes and innocent confusion over their situation, he turns in a shockingly solid performance here that makes you both smile and fight back tears at times. Yet, the true powerhouse here is Will Smith. Expertly portraying the down-on-his-luck Gardner, Smith is incredible in this film. Turning in a determined and emotionally vulnerable performance, Smith shows that he is more than just an action hero. He certainly does utilize his natural charisma in the film, but at all times, his performance feels achingly authentic and realistic. He may be charismatic, but you know that a broken man is just below the surface.

As has been said before, the film's plot greatly resembles classics such as The Bicycle Thieves. Though a true story, the film's narrative and plotting fit closely to the rags to the riches formula, which makes the story itself quite predictable. When things can get worse, they do. However, the film will always wind up happy because he has to become rich at some point. Thus, the film's story represents some pretty typical writing. Fortunately, as mentioned before, the writing's greatest strength is its characters. With the father and son duo incredibly well-rounded characters, the film is elevated significantly. The wife, Linda (Thandie Newton), is not really explored, but this is also not her story. She is a supporting part and we never see her thought process because the film is about her husband. Thus, it is not really an oversight of the film. As such, as a character study, The Pursuit of Happyness is incredibly successful as it creates characters that are easy to root for and then it drops you inside their mind. As a result, significant pathos is evoked when seeing a man who works so hard to try and better himself and his child suffer mightily.

Sweet and sentimental, The Pursuit of Happyness is not a great film. It is an easy watch that is guaranteed to move you as a result of Chris Gardner's story. Will Smith brings charisma and emotion to the role, while bringing along a great relationship with his son Jaden to the film. Together, the duo help to elevate the film above the Hallmark/Lifetime trappings of the story into a very successful and entertaining piece of entertainment. While cliched and predictable, the film never ceases to be engaging and rise above the cliches through the aforementioned acting and great characters.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JudyT.

Apr 2, 2007

I didn't get it. I couldn't sympathize with a man who would keep his son with him while homeless. It seemed a bit selfish. Also being a slave just to get a job at Dean Witter doesn't say much about Dean Witter or stock brokers (high priced salesmen).

0 of 1 users found this helpful

Aaron

Dec 15, 2006

predictable story about how much garbage you can eat without complaining. The ending was sadly lacking and there were no character development to explain the lack of family and friends. To be a successful stock broker you have to have one part used car salesmen and two parts attorney in you.predictable story about how much garbage you can eat without complaining. The ending was sadly lacking and there were no character development to explain the lack of family and friends. To be a successful stock broker you have to have one part used car salesmen and two parts attorney in you. Will Smith had neither.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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35	#35 Most Discussed Movie of 2006
13	#13 Most Shared Movie of 2006