The Pursuit of Happyness

last updated 8 January 2015

The Pursuit of Happyness ought to be corny, said Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a destitute young man who takes an unpaid internship at Dean Witter in a last-ditch attempt to forge a better life for his son. Guess how it ends. But this beautiful, honest film is 'œnothing like the usual success story depicted onscreen.' For a feel-good film, The Pursuit of Happyness certainly can be hard to watch, said Claudia Puig in USA Today. Smith's character, based on a real Dean Witter executive, suffers through a seemingly endless series of embarrassments, trials, and disappointments. He loses his home and his wife, and barely holds onto his dignity. 'œBecause the movie mostly is about the struggles, it can feel depressingly schematic and exhausting.' Only Smith's appealing presence, and a few humorous moments he shares with real-life son, Jaden, keep alive a ray of hope. 'œThe kid has clearly inherited his dad's charisma,' said Gene Seymour in Newsday. But the biggest discovery in The Pursuit of Happyness may be Italian director Gabriele Muccino, who captures the fast-moving business world of early-1980s San Francisco just as realistically he does its bleak street life. 'œRarely, if ever, have American movies so starkly rendered the polarities of capitalism.'

Rating: PG-13