The Pursuit of Happyness

Will Smith plays a down and out portable osteo-density scanner salesman turned multi-millionaire, starring alongside his adorable son.

This film is another opportunity for Will Smith to shine. He is one of the best actors and potentially the most magnetic screen presence about today. From the tinkling piano music that opens the film, you can tell exactly the type of feel the film was going for – based on a true story – man strives after American dream –at great cost - against the odds – comes good in the end – with plenty of speeches and powerful emotive scenes – like Patch Adams. And the director did it perfectly, if you like that sort of thing, even throwing in a few cute knock knock jokes and a commentary on the American constitution.

I think I would put myself in the camp of ‘I like this sort of thing’. Although it’s easy to be cynical about it after the time, I found myself thoroughly on Will Smith’s side (except when he didn’t pay the taxi fare). Disaster after disaster mounts against him, even though you know he’ll make it, we are put through the mill emotionally as we watch the film.

Dan Castelaneta, best known as the voice of Homer Simpson, I think, plays an excellent cameo role, though I enjoyed the fact that this was what Homer Simpson really looks like.

The message the film gave me left me a little dissatisfied. On the one hand, there was the fatherly role, with Gardner (Smith) determined ‘that his son would know his father’, together with his tenacity and hard work. However, the goal in the film seems to be money almost more than relationships and although Gardner succeeds, there seems to be a lot of other people in the film who are in desperate need of help and have no way out. Perhaps though that is the appeal of the film – the majority of people are looking for the lucky break, frustrated and waiting for it to happen. Perhaps, the film says…perhaps your time will come. Hold on and believe in yourself! (Incidentally, I disagree – if you need help in anyway, visiting a local church is a good way to find a supporting community of people.)