Synopsis
The Pursuit of Happyness is based on a true story that takes place in the 1980’s in San Francisco. The star of this film is Chris Gardner (Will Smith). He is very smart and great with people, but he made a not so smart investment in bone density equipment, and now has a job trying to sell them. The income is very low and Chris, his wife (Thandie Newton) and his five year old son Christopher (Jaden Christopher Smith) find themselves broke. Under this pressure, his wife leaves him and their son, to move to New York.
Now a single father, Chris finds that his bank account had been tapped into by the IRS and he is now completely broke. In an effort to try to put his life back together, he enters a competitive internship in a stock brokerage company, hopeful that he will be the intern chosen for a full time, well paying job. Because Chris is in the internship he cannot dedicate as much time as a salesman to make money, and he and his son are evicted from their apartment. With no money and nowhere to go,
they are forced to sleep in shelters, bathrooms, or wherever they can find a safe place for the night.
Despite all of their hardships and struggles, Chris continues to work at the internship and at being a great father. And with his focus and dedication he finally finds happiness for himself and his son.
Review
I loved how believable this movie was. Even if it were not based on a true story, it would still seem that way. The realization that that could really happen to someone is heart heartbreaking. I love the main lesson this movie teaches, to never give up on your dreams no matter how impossible they may seem. Will Smith blew me away with the emotion that he put on the screen. I could see all of his focus, dedication and how he kept pursuing his happiness. My favorite scene that illustrated his relief and happiness was when he was offered the full time job at the firm, and he started to cry. The chemistry he and his son had was shown by a scene where they were in a homeless shelter and his son placed a hand on Chris’ cheek and said “You are a great daddy”. That performance was so heart-swelling that it took my breath away.
