User reviews

Here's the deal: It's real, it's heavy, and it's inspirational, but NOT AT ALL cheesy. Don't like that? Don't see it. I won't say much else. I will say that Will Smith was shockingly good now that he's paid his dues with "Men in Black" and "Bad Boys."

I was very happy that this film never got political and blamed Reagan for the number of "down on their luck" people that were shown, nor was the race card ever pulled out. It was also refreshing that Smith's character never blamed anybody for his troubles.

It's very funny at parts, but be prepared for some serious drama. In no ways is it cliché or contrived or boring. Let's just say that's it not Oliver Stone dramatic. This truly is a must see. To say "I laughed, I cried" would be really lame. It is the truth, though.

We know that Scorsese's crowning achievement "The Departed" is going to take the cake at the Oscars, and I won't be complaining. But this movie deserves to be experienced and taken in by the masses.

I was fortunate to see this movie in a screening. I really enjoyed it, and felt that it lived up to the teary and heartwarming trailer. While the movie has an uplifting "go for your dreams" message, the deepest theme is that of family.

Will Smith did a great job as the father trying to protect his son from their circumstances of becoming homeless as much as he can, while at the same time trying to work in the competitive world of stocks as an un-paid intern. Jaden Smith was outstanding as the preschool-aged kid who knows things are going wrong and tries to have a stiff upper lip, but just can't do it all the time.

The story is very touching and was close to home for me. My family has been through some tough times, and this movie just reminded me of how much my parents struggled to provide for our family and yet kept life fun as much as they could. I am excited to go see this with my parents as a way to say thank you.

Chris Gardner is a struggling salesman who finds himself having to look after his son when his wife gives up and leaves him. Using his charm as much as his academic record, Chris wins his way onto an internship programme of twenty, with only one job at the end. He has the determination to make it but with no salary and almost no income from his sales efforts, Chris finds himself homeless and increasingly desperate as he tries to keep up with his peers by day and survive the rest of the time.

This is an unusual film that, were it totally successful, could be called a victim of that success. Certainly the story it is telling is uplifting and very much testimony to the determination and courage of one man to make it despite tremendous odds. OK so he is not diving into burning buildings to save babies but it is still an engaging and inspiring story because of the sheer endless scale of the challenge and disappointment. It also helps that the sheer weight of soul-destroying challenges that he works through makes it almost impossible for all but the hardest hearted viewer not to feel happy for Chris when he finally makes it (as we know he ultimately will, or else his story would not be a film!) even if "making it" is "making money", which some viewers may find to be not totally worthy in itself. Ironically though this same weight of events also works against the film because it does make it a consistently hard watch. It is praise in a way because I personally tensed up with every added sorrow and this happened because of how convincing and heartbreaking this festival of misery and unfairness was.

A massive part of this working as well as it does is Smith's performance. I last saw him in I Am Legend where I thought that the narrative development in that film totally undid his wonderfully convincing performance in the first half. Here again he is quite brilliant – utterly convincing, showing a flicker of spirit deep within him while also clearly showing each kick, each challenge on his increasingly worn face. Smith junior could have been one of those terribly cute-kid type roles but just about avoids it. Sure he is cute but he is not annoying, mainly because of how natural he is. I think he is really helped by the fact that he does seem to be able to act (or at least "pretend") but more than he already has a relationship with his father that feeds their on screen one. They work well together but ultimately the film is owned by Will Smith, who is great.

Overall then this is an engaging and ultimately inspiring film but not one that is a lot of fun to watch. By virtue of how convincing Smith and the overall delivery is, I felt the tension in my own body, felt the crushing blows of each misfortune or challenge. It helps the film in a way but it did seem like the "uplifting" material is a long time coming.

I was blessed to have seen this movie last night. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me love life.

This movie is a great movie that depicts a love of a father for his son. Will Smith did an incredible job and deserves every accolade available to him. His son also did a fantastic job.

There is a great lesson that is learned in this movie and it truly shares the struggles of everyday life.

This movie was heart felt and touching. It was truly an experience worth having. Thank you for making this movie and I look forward to seeing it again.

Chris Gardner is struggling in life to live up his tax expenses and other things. His wife now leaves him with his son. Chris will do what ever it takes to pay his expenses and to get a new job.

Will Smith is a great actor, now taking serious roles. His acting, along with Thandie Newton and Jaden Smith, were great. This film is based on a true story by the life of Chris Garner who struggles with his life and is now a multi-millionaire.

Although this film is depressing in many points, Will Smith's son, Jaden Smith, lifts up the screen. Thomas Jefferson says we need to pursue happiness. That's what Chris Gardner does. He never gives up. He could even inspire some people.

This is a good, uplifting film. Great acting and has a great message. This will be a good family film and has it's father-son moments.

If you ever wanted to see a movie that portrayed what really makes a man, then you must see this movie.

Forget Stalone. Forget Arnold. Forget Bond. Forget all those romantic comedy whimps. Bruce Willis never had to make this many life threatening decisions in Die Hard.

Will Smith gives a better performance of toughness here than he did portraying Muhammed Ali.

This movie is raw. This movie will force you to examine your manhood. See if you can look in the mirror after watching this film.

Fathers, don't let the PG-13 rating fool you. This movie is not for kids. If you let your child see this movie you may regret it. Your child may never be able to look at you the same way again. Your child will wonder why you are not more like Chris Gardner.

Two hours following the falling of a man and his child since to become homeless. Will Smith is a great actor, but the movie is so boring! The dialogues are artificiously, full of beautiful words in the Hollywood style: shiny but unreal. The biggest problem of The Pursuit of Happyness is its own meaning: Happiness = Money. Maybe you can cry watching this movie, but you will cry for a very poor reason, and the day after you'll have completely forgot the movie.

I have been a fan of Will Smith for years and I have to say this may be his best film yet! "The Pursuit of Happiness" is just a wonderful (based on a true) story, full of adventure, hope, and pain. I saw the movie last night in a packed theater. Big Willie Weekend has returned, and for good reason! It's a great movie to see during the holidays and definitely a tear-jerker! Perfect for a date, a night out with friends, or even with family. If you ever thought Will Smith really couldn't act (and shame on you!), you'll think otherwise once you see this movie. You can really feel what he's going through just by looking in his eyes. And Jaden Smith is too adorable! Their on screen chemistry is almost unbearable to watch! Go see this movie! Great acting, great directing, great writing...you won't regret it!

So the guy is so smart but has no other opportunities than selling his equipment? Not even a dishwashing job? Supposably super social but then gets stranded and has not one friend to ask help from. Not even for a couch to sleep on? What is this whole scenario about, pity and luck? Hard work eventually makes up for all incompetence? What about the story's moral? We can only count on ourselves? Going from poverty to being secured into extreme wealth? All that effort to con peoples retirement funds. Let's remind ourselves of the 2008 crisis seriously! With all intelligence, couldn't he have found another way? Something that would of fit more with a moral accentuated on happiness with less cash? I'm not too sure this movies deserves such a high note. It is well done but other than that it's over the top with American stereotypes. But to be honest... I still cried at the end :)

I didn't like the movie because is expected and plays on good sentiments. It talks about the American dream. It is so too much American, that is banal. They say that it is based on a true story but in my opinion that takes things to extremes. Really during all the film I was wondering why he wouldn't find an easier job, since he had a son! Then it sounds like if you don't try to pursuit the dream you are either stupid or doesn't really have one. Life is a little bit more complicated. How responsible is a father who lets his son sleeping in tube's bathroom or not sleeping at all? More than the pursuit of happiness it seems the pursuit of money at any cost.

My husband and I had an opportunity to attend a screener of this movie last night. We had seen several commercials and a trailer for the film and we had high hopes, we were not disappointed. Many times "inspired by" films feel like hard sells or bids for Oscar glory. "Pursuit of Happiness" is none of that. This is an honest, meaningful film that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre. The viewer becomes fully invested in the struggles of Chris Gardner and his son. Will and Jadyn Smith deserve huge kudos. The real-life father and son dynamic enriched the film and don't know if other actors could have been as powerful. Be warned, there are several tissue inducing moments. This movie is well worth a ticket!

I was involved with one of the first test audiences almost a year ago, and came away quite impressed with the acting performances and heartfelt punch of Pursuit of Happiness. This is easily one of Smith's best films, as he pours his heart and soul into the main character. While the plot may remain a bit transparent, it leaves you asking the question of yourself - how long would you keep battling to get what you really want out of life? I plan on seeing the film again when it releases to the general public, and am very interested to see what changes were made after running it through the test screenings. As I saw it then, it needed very few, if any, changes.

In this journey through the struggles and trials that single father, Chris Gardner, has to take, you see the real side of hardwork and integrity. Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith, Is just trying to give his son a good home as he's on the pursuit of happiness. This movie doesn't only show the hard work of a single parent, but it shows that no matter how hard you get pushed down, you should always get up and keep going. I love the strong connection that the father and son roles have in this movie, it seems so real, and that's because it is! The father (Will smith) and son (Jaden Smith) are father and son outside the movie realm too. Actor, Will Smith, shows his true emotional side during this film, as if he was actually going through the situations occurring in the movie. There couldn't have been a better cast picked for this movie, the pain, struggle, love, and hope seem so real as if you're watching a documentary on someone's life. Smith, usually looked at as a comedic actor, shows what he can really do by jerking the tears from the audience's eyes.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Going into a film like THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, the audience can basically assume that in the end, that happ"y"ness will be found in the end... leading to a tear-jerking finale of overwhelming emotion. As one would expect, that's exactly how THE PURSUIT OF Happiness ends, but even though there is virtually no level of surprise, this Will Smith vehicle somehow manages to stand above similarly themed sap-fests.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS tells the true story of Christopher Garndener (played by Will Smith in a very touching performance), a down-on-his luck salesman who finds himself raising his son on his own in the hardest of financial times. In an attempt to make life better for himself and his young son (played by Smith's real life son Jaden), Chris embarks on a demanding internship at the firm Dean & Whitter. It's an unpaid position with no promise of a job afterwords, but Gardener sees it as his only choice and despite being homeless and broke, he carries out the internship with determination to be the one man chosen for a job with the firm.

The movie follows a very conventional format, but it does so in a refreshingly unconventional manner. Gabrielle Muccino, the film's director, embraces a grittier look for the film and wisely chooses to not emphasize the emotions at every possible moment. Too often a film like this seems to be gunning for tears from it's audience at every possible moment, but Muccino shows genuine restraint and instead lets the drama play out very naturally.

Many times throughout the movie, it seemed impossible how difficult this poor mans life... and knowing that this actually happened to someone makes the film all the more powerful. Will Smith grounds the familiar story with a quiet, humble, and stoic determination to succeed that is only overshadowed by a love for his son. Smith conveys the conflicting feelings of love, failure, stress, and anger without ever losing the gentle hearted soul that makes Christopher Gardener. One of my largest reservations about the film was the casting of Smith's real-life son, however it turns out to be a very wise choice. Jaden Smith is so at ease acting opposite his father that he succeeds in avoiding the cloyingly annoying sweetness of most child actors. It's a very natural relationship between the two that works very well.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS transcends it's conventionally inspirational story by taking many unconventional approaches as mentioned above. However, there are a few moments that stand out as slightly manipulative... in particular, a sequence in which Smith and his son spend a night in a subway pretending to hide from Dinosaurs. However, in a genre that is usually overflowing with sap, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS makes it through the majority of its 2 hour running time without overdoing it. For that, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS exceeded my expectations, and Smith's performance is deserving of award-consideration at year's end.

... B+ ...

By far, the meatiest acting that Will Smith has tackled. He takes down the "Big Willie" style and is just a plain old average Joe. He is like many people, intelligent yet underachieving. It isn't until he is put out on the street that he stops with the get rich quick schemes and tries to find a "real" job.

Smith's son Jaden is very natural in the film. That can be directly attributed to Will playing his father. Will be interesting to see if Jaden is that good playing opposite someone else. Still, he gives one of the purist performances of a first-timer in quite a while.

Specifics of how broke the character really was has been debated, but I don't think that takes away from the film. There is a sense that the film could have gone a lot darker than it did. It always seems to build up to opening that door, but never quit steps through. I think all in all that serves the movie well, though some may have liked to seen more struggle.

Great stuff, Will can do anything he wants. Now he just needs to try and tackle the western genre again, this time with a suitable story.

In 1981, in San Francisco, the smart salesman and family man Chris Gardner (Will Smith) invested the family savings in Ostelo National bone-density scanners, an apparatus twice more expensive than x-ray with practically the same resolution. The white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to the relationship with his wife that leaves him and moves to New York. Without money and wife, but totally committed with his son Christopher (Jaden Smith), Chris sees the chance to fight for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter, disputing for one career in the end of six months training period without any salary with other twenty candidates. Meanwhile, homeless, he has all sorts of difficulties with his son.

"The Pursuit of Happiness" is a touching story of perseverance, commitment and objective in life, and one of the most beautiful and enlightened biographies I have ever see in a movie. The survival capability of Chris Gardner and his love for his son are fantastic examples in a world where we just read and see disgraces in the newspapers and in the television news. The DVD presents the real Chris Gardner, who found the investment firm Gardner Rich in 1987 and became a wealthy man, in the credits, and I loved the last scene when Will Smith and his son crosses and looks at Chris Gardner wearing a suitcase. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "À Procura da Felicidade" ("The Pursuit of Happiness")

Certainly, the best Will Smith film, in my opinion, in terms of acting, a story that involves the film, a script very well created, and even more surprising, when you know that whoever plays his son in the film, is his son Jaden Smith, excellent film.

Film seen on August 9, 2020.