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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 date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
3.5/5

Luke Buckmaster

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 02 2007 03:15 AM

In Film Australia

N/R

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 13 2007 04:27 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

tomato

Urban Cinefile Critics

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 05 2007 10:55 PM

Urban Cinefile

splat

Fernando F. Croce

Counterfeit emotion and submerged racism

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 28 2009 12:21 AM

CinePassion

N/R

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM

Cinema Crazed

N/R

Tom Meek

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 23 2009 03:16 AM

Boston Phoenix

tomato
3/5

Brian Marder

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 20 2008 03:17 AM

Hollywood.com

tomato
B-

Rob Humanick

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 06 2008 10:58 AM

Projection Booth

tomato
7/10

Brandon Fibbs

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 28 2008 01:21 PM

BrandonFibbs.com

splat
2.5/4

Joe Lozito

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 03:58 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 23 2007 03:40 AM

Jam! Movies

tomato
B-

Christopher Smith

Hokey title, but sometimes movie is good.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 10 2007 07:23 PM

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

splat

Brian Tallerico

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 24 2007 12:26 PM

UGO

splat

Prairie Miller

The American Dream as white, rich and all male.

Full Review Source: | comment 2 Comments | Mar., 21 2007 09:13 PM

WBAI Web Radio

tomato
4/5

Todd Gilchrist

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: | comment Comment | Feb., 19 2007 11:57 AM

IGN Movies

tomato
4/5

Pablo Villaca

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: | comment Comment | Feb., 03 2007 04:02 PM

Cinema em Cena

tomato
3/5

James Kendrick

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 03 2007 04:34 AM

Q Network Film Desk

splat
3/6

Joshua Rothkopf

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 03 2007 04:34 AM

Time Out New York

splat
2/4

Scott Nash

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 03 2007 04:34 AM

Three Movie Buffs

tomato
4.5/5

Karina Montgomery

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 31 2007 01:00 PM

Cinerina

 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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