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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:165

Fresh:109

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 critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
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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
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: In Film Australia | comment Comment
02/02/07
Luke Buckmaster
Luke Buckmaster
In Film Australia
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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

What ultimately keeps Happyness on track is Will Smith's perfectly pitched performance.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/14/06
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

[Muccino] is quite skilled at hitting all the appropriate emotional peaks and valleys, though his hard logic leaves a bit to be desired.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment 4 Comments
12/14/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

[An] honorable but dogged effort.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment 2 Comments
12/14/06
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

A string of annoyances that no doubt riddled the real life of Chris Gardner, but when put in a Hollywood film, feel quite set up like dominos that fall with cliché timing.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment 1 Comment
12/21/06
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

Deserves kudos for avoiding saccharine sentiment, but its relentless emphasis on money as the cure for all ills is depressing. They might as well have called it The Pursuit of Richyness.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment 2 Comments
01/14/07
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC

It's a solid vehicle for Smith, tailored to his personality and strengths as a star, and fueled by his utter conviction.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
12/14/06
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Makes you work for its climax if not its message.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
12/13/06
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

In his first English-language feature, Muccino plays it disappointingly safe, leaving creativity by the wayside and adopting a conservative by-the-numbers style. The result is terribly maudlin and predictable.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment 1 Comment
12/14/06
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Guitar-strumming hippie chicks, homeless nutcases, Chinese-speaking day care operators and non-Smith black folks -- bad; rich white stock brokers with box seats at 49ers games -- good.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment 9 Comments
12/15/06
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Gardner's fight is everyman's fight... to remain true to his material objectives without sacrificing that which really matters to him-- his trusting little shadow.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
01/06/07
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

How is it that movies 'inspired by a real story' often feel more fake than those fully embedded in the realm of fiction?

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 7 Comments
12/14/06
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

The whole thing works. This earnest, modest, sweet little ode to paternal love is meant to warm the cockles of our hearts in a season overrun with cockle-warming, and even a recalcitrant Scrooge may sniff back a few salty droplets.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
12/15/06
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

An old-fashioned Hollywood heartwarmer.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
01/12/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is the saddest Will Smith movie I've ever seen. But the worser it gets the more you know how it'll come out at the end.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment 15 Comments
12/06/06
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

I really liked this film. But don't forget to bring the hankies.

Full Review Source: Houston Community Newspapers | comment Comment
12/16/06
Gary Brown
Gary Brown
Houston Community Newspapers

The picture is skilled enough to generate some genuine pathos to go along with the more calculated melodramatics.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
12/23/06
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

A hard-pressed African-American single parent and his five-year old son struggle to survive and fulfill the American dream in San Francisco in 1981.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
12/14/06
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
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