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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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121 - 140 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Had we seen an intimate glimpse into the professional side of Gardner's journey, this likeable but unexceptional fable could have been so much more.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/14/06
Dezhda Gaubert
Dezhda Gaubert
E! Online

The role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it. He's the real deal.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
12/14/06
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

Thankfully, humor leavens the dark journey, and little Jaden and his jokes go a long way to warm our hearts.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
12/14/06
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Smith is resourceful in the role, though the story stretches one's credulity about his character's resourcefulness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/14/06
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

The Pursuit of Happyness goes beyond tugging at our heartstrings. It plucks them, strokes them, strums them, plays them for all they're worth. That's both the strength and the weakness of this inspirational drama.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
12/14/06
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Heartwarming at times, heartbreaking at others, you could do far worse this season than this touching tale.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
12/14/06
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

Smith hasn't delivered this kind of earnest, emotionally raw performance since Ali, and his Chris Gardner is every bit as complex.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
12/14/06
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

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

A fairy tale in realist drag, The Pursuit of Happyness is the kind of entertainment that goes down smoothly until it gets stuck in your craw.

comment 9 Comments
12/14/06
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Pursuit of Happyness is the biography of a real guy named Christopher Gardner, whom Will Smith, charming and bright, embodies to the fingertips.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
12/14/06
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's almost impossible to watch this movie and not, on some level beyond reason, succumb. The Pursuit of Happyness is an expert piece of calculation: a male weepie engineered for the whole family.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
12/14/06
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

Sad, sappy and rarely believable, it's a tedious tearjerker.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
12/14/06
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

[An] honorable but dogged effort.

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

Winter's coming in hard, but this season's leading cause of the sniffles is going to be The Pursuit of Happyness, a viral blast of the American Dream. It's Rocky with a briefcase.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/14/06
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post

If you’ve seen the schlocky trailer for The Pursuit of Happyness, you’ve seen a better version of the actual film.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 1 Comment
12/14/06
Toddy Burton
Toddy Burton
Austin Chronicle

A moving and heartfelt character-based drama with an unsentimental tone that makes the machinations of the plot all the more urgent and effective.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
12/14/06
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The most touching drama of this not-very-touching holiday movie season.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
12/14/06
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

Smith is terrific and moving in this film. The film itself is more conventional. Yet it's better-crafted and less obviously ruthless in the pathos department than you'd expect.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
12/14/06
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

This optimistic, rags-to-riches, father/son relationship story becomes a heartwarming, inspirational holiday fable.

Full Review Source: www.susangranger.com | comment Comment
12/14/06
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

Only a total Scrooge wouldn't feel good at the end of the movie, but The Pursuit of Happyness merely trudges through a lot of downs on its way to the big, rewarding finale.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
12/14/06
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

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