The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating: 4.0

Will Smith's Strong, Urgent Performance Elevates this Reality-Based Tearjerker.
Excellent drama with superb acting
A sad but good movie
The Pursuit of Accuracy, Not Happiness
A movie about hope

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The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Will Smith , Jaden Smith , Thandie Newton , Brian Howe , and James Karen
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Product Group: DVD
Binding: DVD
ASIN: B000N6U0E2
2007-03-27

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Castellaneta, Dan

Fuller, Kurt

Karen, James

Newton, Thandie

Smith, Will

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Amazon.com

A heartwarming film that demonstrates how good, hard-working people can become homeless almost overnight, Pursuit of Happyness is a tour-de-force showcase for Will Smith, who convincingly portrays a down-and-out dad trying to better his family's life. Smith, who usually is cast in effortlessly boyish roles (Men in Black, Independence Day), is wonderful in the film--even in the scenes that shamelessly tug at viewers' heartstrings. Based on the true-life story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman forced at times to shelter his young son (played by Smith's adorable look-alike offspring Jaden Smith) in a men's room, there is little suspense to the film in terms of Chris' outcome. (His story and eventual success a successful and wealthy Chicago businessman was well-publicized on the newsmagazine show 20/20.) And let's face it, Hollywood's not too keen on making feel-good movies with unhappy endings. The beauty (and suspense, to a certain extent) of this film is in the way the story is told. Though he is constantly rushing around to get to appointments and pick up his child, things do not happen quickly for Chris. When he accepts an internship with a prestigious stock brokerage firm, there's a catch: The position is unpaid, suitable more for trust-fund children than single parents with no other source of income. In many scenes, the viewer panics along with Chris, wondering how he's going to feed his child. While Smith and his son, Jaden, share many tender moments together, Thandie Newton has the thankless role of playing Chris' shrill wife, who deserts her family early in the film. It's not a particularly challenging part for the talented actress, and her departure doesn't impact the storyline much at all. As for the movie's misspelled title, it's inspired from a scene in the film. (Seeing a mural drawn by the children at a daycare center, Chris points out to the proprietor that "happiness" is spelled incorrectly. She notes that it doesn't matter how the word is written--just that the kids have it.) With Pursuit of Happyness, Smith has come out of his safety zone and, in turn, ends up playing his most heroic role to date. --Jae-Ha Kim

Extras from The Pursuit of Happyness <table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%" cellspacing="4">

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Behind the scenes footage of 
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Chris Gardner: 
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Will Smith And Jaden Smith: "On Will Always Being In Character"
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Will Smith stars in the inspirational true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman who's struggling to make ends meet. When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise their 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris' determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the street, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self- confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.

Customer Reviews:

Will Smith's Strong, Urgent Performance Elevates this Reality-Based Tearjerker. .......2007-06-10

"The Pursuit of Happyness" is an unabashed tearjerker about the American Dream and commitment to family in the face of great odds. It was inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, who spent some time in the 1980s homeless while trying to care for his young son and make it through a stockbroker internship. The film is fictionalized but stays true to Gardner's struggle for success and dedication to his son. Gardner's autobiography, which goes by the same title, was actually published after the film was written. In San Francisco, 1981, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) can't make ends meet selling portable bone density scanners, while his embittered wife Linda (Thandie Newton) waitresses 2 shifts a day. Chris spies a man with an enviable sportscar on the street one day and asks him what he does for a living. He's a stockbroker. So Chris decides that's what he'll be. He must be at the top of his class after 6 months in Dean Witter's competitive internship program to be hired. Meanwhile, Chris has no wife, no money, no paying job, and a 5-year old son (Jaden Smith).

A story of hardship and hard work, paternal love and frustration, could easily be too saccharine for words. It's saved from this fate by Chris Gardner's desperation. Behind his indomitable pluck, Gardner is truly desperate. He has no money, no home, uncertain prospects, and the responsibility of providing for a young child. He hides his circumstances from his colleagues. He's spends an inordinate amount of energy chasing errant bone scanners around town. He compromises his ethics. His single-mindedness eventually takes a toll on his son. Chris is struggling for his life. And his financial problems are something the audience can understand and may themselves fear. That's why "The Pursuit of Happyness" works so well. Credit is due Will Smith's Oscar-nominated performance and Italian director Gabriele Muccino's understanding of intense emotions painted with small strokes.

The DVD (Sony 2007): There are 4 featurettes, the song "I Can" by Bebe Winans and Dave Koz (5 min, audio), and a feature commentary. "Making Pursuit: An Italian Take on the American Dream" (17 min) interviews Gabriele Muccino, Will Smith, and the producers about choosing Muccino to direct. Muccino talks about filming in San Francisco and working in English. "Father and Son: On Screen and Off" (7 min) recounts casting Jaden Smith after auditioning hundreds of other children, and Will Smith talks about working with his son. "The Man Behind the Movie: A Conversation with Chris Gardner" (12 min) interviews Gardner about his participation in the film, and Will Smith talks about learning from him. "Inside the Rubik's Cube" (6 min) is a fun short documentary on the persistent popularity of the Cube. There is a nice audio commentary by director Gabriele Muccino, in English. Muccino tells us how he got the job, discusses themes, recreating the 1980s, Will Smith's trust, locations, and some technical details. Subtitles are available for the film in English, French, Spanish. Dubbing available in French.

Excellent drama with superb acting.......2007-06-10

Dramas are, well, dramatic at times. The storyline here is very realistic...and it offers much hope with human struggle. Will Smith is Academy Award material (perhaps his son too). It'll (most probably!) jerk tears and make you laugh out loud...and hug your kid. The BD (Blu-Ray) edition is, of course, significantly better.

A sad but good movie.......2007-06-07

I am a big fan of Will Smith and this movie is in a different genre than the other films I have seen him in. It was a really good movie and it kept my attention. It really shows just how difficult it is when you are a single parent trying to make it financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Although he slept many nights in a homeless shelter, or one night in a bathroom at the subway station...he continued to be a good role model for his son. The part that made me cry is when it showed him donating blood to get $20.

I would have really liked to have seen some parts of him as a successful man but the movie ended too soon. Once again, Will Smith done a great job and in my opinion he is better than the movie. But...I will recommend it to anyone that likes drama.

The Pursuit of Accuracy, Not Happiness.......2007-06-06

The Pursuit of Happyness, set in San Francisco in 1981, is based on the one-year struggle of Chris Gardner, a self made millionaire, had with being homeless and constantly trying to find a shelter for his son and himself while working an internship at Dean Witter. This movie is based on the autobiography of Chris Gardner. His book illustrated his abusive childhood and growing up in an atmosphere lacking love and never seeing his father. Gardner pledged to become a father of love and care for his children. After encountering many hardships, Gardner finally succeeded in the business world. But as a docudrama, this movie oversimplifies the complex issues of race and never explained why such a genuine man could suffer so much, why so many blacks were wandering aimlessly seeking for a shelter and portraying black wives as bitter and heartless women.

Will smith stars as Chris Gardner, and Jaden Smith (Will Smith's son) is Chris Gardner's son. Will smith does a flawless performance in showing one man's reach for the impossible dream. He becomes Chris Gardner and suffered the hardships. It seems as though this movie is set in the attempt of preparing Will Smith for yet another Oscar Nomination with his preparations for the movie such as growing out a beard and bringing in his own son. His performance with his son Jaden sparked the real fatherhood and the love a man has for his own son. In the scenes of suffering, one can see in the eyes of Will Smith, his fatherly love, rather than trying to find emotion with a professional child actor. Especially in the scene when smith screams at his son for wanting Captain America back. The mix of frustration, coldness and love showed through his eyes and pierced the hearts of the audience. Thandie Newton stars as Chris Gardner's wife Linda, who shows the bitterness and craziness a woman working double shifts as a hotel struggling to live with her own husband.

An interesting character also appears at the end of the movie as Christopher ells his knock knock jokes. The real Chris Gardner appears and nods at Smith. This is a successful crossover of reality and the persona of Gardner because it blends together the real and the fictional.

But it seem as though this film is produced for Will Smith rather than produced being an accurate docudrama and making the audience feel the motions of a guy trying to pursue happiness despite his harsh environment. Although in Chris Gardner's autobiography he actually encounters countless hardships and finally succeeds, when put into a film it feels as though it may be a bit too cliché for a man to run into worse and worse situations, overcoming them and finally succeeding in becoming a self-made millionaire.

Most of the movie, we see Smith chasing hippies and old people over a Density Bone Scanner, and by the end of the movie, it seems a though these are the scenes we remember and less of the hardships he encounters. More emphasis should have been put into creating the realistic atmosphere where Gardner becomes devastated by his circumstances and his frustrations. One of the only times we encounter and feel his uneasiness is when he is in the phone booth calling his wife and she tells him she's leaving. Without much explanation provided to allow the audience to further connect with him, Gardner becomes just another black man suffering on the streets with the countless others and luckily brought on screen to show the world.

Most of the debate though, lies in the oversimplification on the issues of racism and poverty of blacks. In the film when Gardner and his son are running in Glide Church, blacks were portrayed as aimlessly circling the streets and waited for a place to go. This film doesn't provide an explanation as to why they are. Blacks in San Francisco were constantly discriminated against in the 1970s, making lives extremely cruel for them. It was difficult for them to find decent work besides domestic labor and there was a major influx of African Americans into San Francisco to find jobs in the wartime industry.

It seems as though this movie undermines the situation when showing Gardner's successful ob interview without a suit or tie, covered in paint and previously spending a night in jail. Although the aimlessly wandering blacks were there partially to portray the reality, the audiences have no connection or clue as to what the situation in the 1970s was like. The movie is made as though 1970s was a prosperous and integrating time. But in reality, 1970s was plagued by stagflation, which is high inflation and high unemployment rates. But if the audience did not know their history, blacks may just seem like a bunch of homeless people wandering around the streets. Perhaps showing short scenes of other blacks struggling to find jobs and being rejected would've made this a better docudrama.

Gardner's story is supported to be one that inspires youngsters to never give up and stay strong. But in reality, the series of events that happened within the two hours of the movie actually happened within a relative number of years. This two hour packed portrayal of Gardner's life distorted Chris Gardner's life and makes it an inaccurate account of Chris Gardner's life. Gardner became a multi-millionaire who is an influential speaker and who continues to help people with his own power. The director seems to have focused too much on piecing together a well-rounded character that he forgot to put in the edges to Chris Gardner such as his hobbies and what he plays with his son so that we, the audience, can connect to.

This movie is of a black man's simple life and a struggle to reach for the impossible. There were some times when we could feel the love between Gardner and his son, but by the end of the movie, one already feels too tired from the chasing of the Density Bone Scanner and anger from the distorted life of Chris Gardner that we don't become inspired by the actual story of a man trying to pursue happiness.

A movie about hope .......2007-06-05

In a day when there seems to be nothing but psychobabel movies, or movies dedicated to the rotten sides of life, it's refreshing to see one that shows how redeeming life can be in spite of unbelievable adversity. Will Smith is truly a master actor and this film shows his most creative side. It's worth your time!

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