The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

All Critics (171) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (120) | Rotten (58) | DVD (24)

Smith hits all the right notes - understated, engaging, inspirational - even if his young son threatens to charm him off the screen.

January 11, 2007 Full Review

Mark Salisbury

Time Out

Top Critic

This is Smith as you've never seen him -- an unsure, struggling, frustrated guy trying to hold together his family and failing.

December 30, 2006 Full Review

Bill Muller

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

As cynical as I am, I have to admit I was completely won over by Smith's sincere and deeply effective work as a guy who was knocked down again and again, but refused to stay on the canvas.

December 18, 2006

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

Some people will see The Pursuit of Happyness as a glorification of capitalism, but the movie is much less about 'getting' than it is about 'not having.'

December 15, 2006 Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

Top Critic

The Pursuit of Happyness can't imagine anything worse than being poor. Except maybe being surrounded by poor people.

December 15, 2006 Full Review | Comments (11)

Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

Top Critic

Ultimately, the real Chris Gardner emerges as an inspirational American success story -- and Will Smith emerges as a fine and nuanced actor.

December 15, 2006 Full Review

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

Top Critic

The Pursuit of Happyness is a very Hollywood film, which could be good or bad depending on your point of view. It tries very hard to be profound and inspirational, but ultimately it's not up to the task.

April 25, 2011 Full Review

Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

Counterfeit emotion and submerged racism

August 28, 2009 Full Review | Comments (12)

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Sap, sentiment, and hokey plot devices bog down an otherwise down to earth story.

April 29, 2009 Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Smith turns in a career-capping performance, and director Gabriele Muccino ingeniously turns the material inward, cautioning us all to be grateful for what we have, for we're closer to the edge than we think.

April 23, 2009 Full Review

Tom Meek

Boston Phoenix

Will Smith is getting all the awards buzz, but it's his real-life son, Jaden, who transcends all expectations in Happyness.

November 20, 2008 Full Review

Brian Marder

Hollywood.com

Rags-to-riches tale is predictable but well-acted.

July 16, 2008 Full Review | Comment (1)

Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

Even the glossiest of surfaces can't extinguish the genuine emotions running beneath them here.

April 6, 2008 Full Review

Rob Humanick

Projection Booth

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

February 28, 2008 Full Review

Brandon Fibbs

BrandonFibbs.com

solidno napravljen holivudski proizvod

September 28, 2007 Full Review

Dragan Antulov

Index.hr

Expects us to swallow Capitalism's biggest lie: if you can't 'make it', then it's your own stupid fault.

September 4, 2007 Full Review | Comments (7)

James O'Ehley

Sci-Fi Movie Page

Muccino skates along the edge of melodrama in this sweet film, with the tone just bordering on the syrupy, at times. That makes it a good, but not a great film to watch.

July 25, 2007 Full Review

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

This is Will Smith's movie from start to finish and he carries it wonderfully.

July 14, 2007 Full Review | Comments (2)

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

[A] calculatedly emotional, sterilizingly cleancut drama.

June 23, 2007 Full Review

Jim Slotek

Jam! Movies

Hokey title, but sometimes movie is good.

May 10, 2007 Full Review

Christopher Smith

Bangor Daily News (Maine)

• 1. Christopher: You're a good papa.
  – Submitted by Adam O (2 months ago)
• 1. Chris Gardner: This part of my life, this part right here? This is called 'happiness'. Share this quote
  – Submitted by Adam O (2 months ago)
• 1. Christopher: Hey dad, you wanna hear something funny? There was a man who was drowning, and a boat came, and the man on the boat said "Do you need help?" and the man said "God will save me". Then another boat came and he tried to help him, but he said "God will save me", then he drowned and went to Heaven. Then the man told God, "God, why didn't you save me?" and God said "I sent you two boats, you dummy!"
  – Submitted by Adam O (2 months ago)
• 1. Chris Gardner: It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?
  – Submitted by Adam O (2 months ago)
• 1. Chris Gardner: Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. Not even me. All right?
  2. Christopher: All right
  3. Chris Gardner: You got a dream. You gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.
  – Submitted by Adam O (2 months ago)
• 1. Chris Gardner: I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. I made up my mind that when I had children, my children were going to know who their father was.
  – Submitted by Adam O (2 months ago)

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