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Review #341 of 365
Movie Review of The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) [PG-13] 116 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.50
Where Viewed: Colorado Cinemas Cherry Creek 8, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 18 December 2006
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Film's Official Website
DVD Release Date: unscheduled
Directed by: Gabriele Muccino (Ricordati di me)
Written by: Steve Conrad (The Weather Man)
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Will Smith (Hitch) • Jaden Smith ("All of Us") • Thandie Newton (Crash) • Brian Howe (Déjà Vu) • James Karen ("The Practice") • Dan Castellaneta ("The Simpsons")
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Well, it's that time of the film season when movies hyped for the past sixth months or more start to be delivered with near reckless abandon. Many will not live up to their hype and others will surpass it. Some will be lost in folds of time of the winter holiday season which, ironically, affords some people with less time to see the many films released despite having more time off from work. Others will get their due, and provide memories for years to come. When the trailers for Will Smith's new film, The Pursuit of Happyness started running, I noted numerous exclamations from the crowd questioning their own abilities to spell 'happiness'. Indeed, a new generation of children will probably grow up misspelling the word based on seeing it in the film's title frustrating their teachers and parents / guardians alike. Nonetheless, it is misspelled on purpose as it does relate to incidents in the film. The trailer, unfortunately, did two things wrong that began to set this film up for decreased impact on the screen. First, it gave away far too much of the plot—an increasingly common misstep by trailer editors who don't quite yet still comprehend that if they give away too much of the plot, spoil too many of the jokes, reveal too many of the secrets, they decrease the likelihood actually of a mediocre film doing well. That may seem counterintuitive to them and their corporate egghead studio chiefs, but think about it. If a movie is mediocre, and you try to make it look better with a more detailed preview / trailer, the people who do go and see it will tell all of their friends, "Don't bother, it's mediocre and you've seen all the good stuff in the trailer." Studios know only too well, which is why they utilize pre-screenings of films as a technique to build it, that word of mouth can easily sink or unleash a film even if it is reviewed poorly by critics. Films, just like technology, have early adopters who see films the day they come out or sooner if possible, and start their personal PR engines the moment they exit the theatre. Well, I am sorry to report, but there is very little fresh in the film that doesn't come through in the preview, so I would probably be one of those people. The second mistake the trailer made was that it really makes this film look like a sob story about one father's struggle to overcome his station in life. I've spent the last eight hours or so contemplating why, in fact, the film invoked nearly no emotional response in me whatsoever. Finally, after a long time of pondering it hit me. I didn't feel sorry for the protagonist. While this is a rags to riches story about one man whose relentless persistence finally brings him great fortune, he is in rags because he has suffered dumb luck or made dumb decisions, not because he has endured tragedy. His life is not dissimilar for a very large percentage of the population of the USA whose children live below the governmentally set standard of poverty. And, the movie makes it seem like the reason he is where he is financially, is because he decided to gamble all the money has on bone density scanners which turn out to be a luxury device most medical offices don't need or cannot afford. So, the degree to which we can feel sorry for him or empathize with him is fairly small. In fact, these bone density scanners become the main source of comic relief in what would otherwise be a pretty ordinary story in some ways, as they are constantly being stolen and abused all over town. With too much of the plot revealed and implications that this is a going to be a truly amazing story of the struggle and triumph of a single-parent father on the streets of San Francisco when it turns out to be far less than that, the film can be considered, largely, highly disappointing.
"…lofty expectations built in the preview and a story that isn't as compelling as it might have been, yielded a film that ends up in the middle of the road stuck in its pursuit of happyness."
The story is that of multi-millionaire Chris Gardner's rise to fame and fortune after hitting rock bottom and homeless status when he cannot sell the bone density scanners, his car is impounded for parking tickets, he is impounded for failure to pay the parking tickets, his wife leaves him seeing no future in their family, and he is left with $21 in his checking account when the IRS seizes the rest of his assets for back taxes. There is no doubt that Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a brilliant man who made some not so terrific decisions in his youth. Moreover, there is no doubt that there is much to be learned by his life from that point and the degree of persistence one must have to be successful. Could he be a great inspirational and motivational speaker? Absolutely! But the film version of this part of his life, despite the wonderfully compelling portrayal of his son Christopher by Will Smith's real son, Jaden Smith, just didn't pack the power that was needed to turn this into a remarkable film. This is not to say that Will Smith's performance wasn't terrific. It was, as was Jaden's. Their on-screen chemistry of father and son was perfect for the film. The rest of the cast, however, including Thandie Newton's lack luster performance as Chris Gardner's wife, left much to be desired. While the other characters are written to be walking stereotypes, the actors do little to move them beyond the shallow shells they are into real people. The white men of Dean Whitter are all obnoxious, self-serving, self-centered, entitled stuffed shirts. While Linda Gardner (Thandie Newton) is depicted as a heartless harpee disgusted by her husband and furious that she's having to do all the work all the time. Ms Newton, also, fails to bring any light to the character. When she leaves, it's a relief.
The film does leave one with a sense of admiration for Chris Gardner. He did fulfill the American dream, and he did so only because of his diligence. He seemed like a caring and loving father who mostly put the needs of his son above those of his own. He overcame economic class struggles to rise above via a sixth month unpaid internship. Unfortunately, lofty expectations built in the preview and a story that isn't as compelling as it might have been, yielded a film that ends stuck in the middle of the road in its pursuit of happyness.
The film does leave one with a sense of admiration for Chris Gardner. He did fulfill the American dream, and he did so only because of his diligence. He seemed like a caring and loving father who mostly put the needs of his son above those of his own. He overcame economic class struggles to rise above via a sixth month unpaid internship. Unfortunately, lofty expectations built in the preview and a story that isn't as compelling as it might have been, yielded a film that ends stuck in the middle of the road in its pursuit of happyness.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Cast Members
Will Smith
• Jaden Smith • Thandie NewtonBrian Howe
• James Karen • Dan CastellanetaDirector
Gabriele Muccino
Writer
Steve Conrad
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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Trailers for The Pursuit of Happyness, unfortunately, did two things wrong that set it up for decreased impact on screen. They gave away too much of the plot and made it look like a sob story about one father's struggle to overcome his station in life. Because Chris Gardner (Will Smith) made his own bed, it's hard to feel that sorry for him or to develop an emotional attachment to him. This is not to say that Will Smith's performance wasn't terrific. It was, as was his son's, Jaden. Their on-screen chemistry of father and son was perfect. The rest of the cast left much to be desired. While the other characters are written to be walking stereotypes, the actors do little to move them beyond the shallow shells they are into real people. Lofty expectations yielded a middle of the road film stuck in the pursuit of happyness.
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