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Movies / Upcoming / The Pursuit of Happyness
The Pursuit of Happyness

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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

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Reviews Counted:164

Fresh:108

Rotten:56

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: Will Smith’s heartfelt performance elevates The Pursuit of Happyness above mere melodrama.

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $162,586,036

Synopsis: In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a family man struggling to make ends meet. Despite his valiant attempts to help keep the family afloat, the mother (Thandie Newton) of his... In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a family man struggling to make ends meet. Despite his valiant attempts to help keep the family afloat, the mother (Thandie Newton) of his five-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) is buckling under the constant strain of financial pressure. No longer able to cope, she reluctantly decides to leave. Chris, now a single father, continues doggedly to pursue a better-paying job using every sales skill he knows. He lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, and although there is no salary, he accepts, hopeful he will end the program with a job and a promising future. Without a financial cushion, Chris and his son are soon evicted from their apartment and forced to sleep in shelters, bus stations, bathrooms, or wherever they can find refuge for the night. Despite his troubles, Chris continues to honor his commitment as a loving and caring father, using the affection and trust his son has placed in him as an impetus to overcome the obstacles he faces. Columbia Pictures presents in association with Relativity Media an Overbrook Entertainment/Escape Artists Production The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith, Thandie Newton and introducing Jaden Christopher Syre Smith. The film is directed by Gabriele Muccino and written by Steven Conrad. The producers are Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, James Lassiter and Will Smith. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Mark Clayman, David Alper and Teddy Zee. The director of photography is Phedon Papamichael, ASC. The production designer is J. Michael Riva. The film editor is Hughes Winborne, A.C.E. The costume designer is Sharen Davis. The music is by Andrea Guerra. The Pursuit of Happyness has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for Some Language. The Pursuit of Happyness will be released by Columbia Pictures on December 15, 2006. -- © Columbia Pictures [More]

Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Thandie Newton

Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Director: Gabriele Muccino
Screenwriter: Steve Conrad
Producer: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, James Lassiter
Studio: Columbia Pictures

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Reviews for The Pursuit of Happyness

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
02/02/07
Luke Buckmaster
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/13/07
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Directed by talented young Gabriele Muccino, the film benefits from his outsider's observations, and he is far too smart a filmmaker to let schmaltz creep into the tone.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/05/07
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Counterfeit emotion and submerged racism

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/28/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

Even the most superficially glossy of surfaces can't completely extinguish the genuine emotions running beneath them here.

Full Review Source: Projection Booth | comment Comment
04/06/08
Rob Humanick
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth

Few films so convincingly portray the titanic struggle that some people face day in and day out just to survive.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/23/07
Jam! Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hokey title, but sometimes movie is good.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
05/10/07
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

In an effort to make a crowd-pleasing film, the horrors that Gardner must have experienced on the streets feel glossed over by the Hollywood machine.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
03/24/07
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
UGO

The American Dream as white, rich and all male.

Full Review Source: WBAI Web Radio | comment 2 Comments
03/21/07
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
WBAI Web Radio

Will Smith gives the performance of his career in a movie for which phrases like "heart-warming" and "life-affirming" were made.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
02/19/07
Todd Gilchrist
Todd Gilchrist
IGN Movies

Sem jamais tratar o papel como uma simples oportunidade de mostrar seu alcance dramático, Will Smith comove justamente por demonstrar o esforço de seu personagem para se conter em momentos de grande emoção.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
02/03/07
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/03/07
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
02/03/07
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
02/03/07
Scott Nash
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

You may come out rebuking yourself for your laziness or your choices or your fatalism or your fears, but you will come out glad you saw this movie.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
01/31/07
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

We may wonder if happiness can be bought this way, and whether the film being sold to us isn't a slightly suspect package, but Smith, sublime and moving, sells it regardless.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
01/17/07
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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