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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
Reviews for The Pursuit of Happyness
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.
The character of Christ... er, I mean Chris Gardner gets beaten down so much - and has a complete absence of faults - that it's really unbelievable.
If patience isn't a virtue you possess, pass on The Pursuit of Happyness.
An honest, intense look at the kind of day-to-day survival that too many Americans must contend with...This is absolutely one of my favorite movies of the year.
An emotionally manipulative but astoundingly powerful rags-to-riches tale that recalls Frank Capra at his most heart-rending.
This is Smith as you've never seen him -- an unsure, struggling, frustrated guy trying to hold together his family and failing.
Smith's performance is terrific, but it's in service of a clumsy, heavy-handed film that believes the ultimate measure of a man is how hard he chases what he desires - wealth, fame, Oscars.
At its core The Pursuit of Happyness is a good story -- one that's literally rags to riches, and didn't need the many tweaks and embellishments that Italian director Gabriele Muccino and writer Steven Conrad have added.
While he doesn't stint on the warm 'n' fuzzies, Italian director Gabriele Muccino doesn't mind showing us what sleeping in a homeless shelter or, worse yet, in the men's room at a BART station, looks like.
In the end the film feels like an average made-for-TV movie, if there were a cable channel for the sensitive man.
If you’ve seen the schlocky trailer for The Pursuit of Happyness, you’ve seen a better version of the actual film.
When these characters win their share of comfort and joy, they bring the audience bounties of wisdom and euphoria.
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.
It's a fine film, with a portrait of fatherhood that feels scuffed and driven and real.
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