The most emotionally rewarding father-son narrative experience at the movies since a certain 1997 triple Oscar winner.
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12/17/06
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
66
%
Tomatometer
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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.
Theatrical Release:Dec 15, 2006 Wide
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... [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Thandie Newton
Director: Gabriele Muccino
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Reviews for The Pursuit of Happyness
Smith's performance is terrific, but it's in service of a clumsy, heavy-handed film that believes the ultimate measure of a man is how hard he chases what he desires - wealth, fame, Oscars.
12/17/06
Smith's charm, which he has used to great effect in everything from sitcoms to action movies, matures here onscreen. He's suddenly the new Tom Hanks...
12/16/06
The Pursuit of Happyness is a feel-good film with plot conveniences that stack needless burdens on the main character, but it takes great care to show how difficult it can be to pull oneself up.
12/16/06
I really liked this film. But don't forget to bring the hankies.
12/16/06
[Smith] gives one of his most subdued performances, gracefully balancing Gardner's driving ambition with his hard-luck reality.
12/16/06
Do we really want to see Will Smith suffer for over an hour and a half? Not really
12/16/06
Makes Working Girl look like a whiny brat. It's a jiggy Secret of My Success. It's like the best very special episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Somebody stop me.
12/15/06
Even the considerable charms of both Smith and the personable character he plays may not be enough to keep audiences from growing impatient to get to the good stuff.
12/15/06
Guitar-strumming hippie chicks, homeless nutcases, Chinese-speaking day care operators and non-Smith black folks -- bad; rich white stock brokers with box seats at 49ers games -- good.
12/15/06
perfectly respectable, if simplistic
12/15/06
... there's something so slick, so neat and tidy about the production ... that it clashes with the desperate anguish of the down-and-out main character.
12/15/06
Most of the press on The Pursuit of Happyness has focused on the surprising performance of young Jaden Smith. And yes, the kid is really that good.
12/15/06
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.'
12/15/06
Top CriticWhen these characters win their share of comfort and joy, they bring the audience bounties of wisdom and euphoria.
12/15/06
The film makes it seem as if the only obstacles Chris faces are a lack of a college education and the fellow poor who keep stealing his scanners.
12/15/06
The Pursuit of Happyness can't imagine anything worse than being poor. Except maybe being surrounded by poor people.
12/15/06
Top CriticUltimately, the real Chris Gardner emerges as an inspirational American success story -- and Will Smith emerges as a fine and nuanced actor.
12/15/06
Will Smith has the right quality for the role -- he's an easy man to root for -- but he augments this by channeling some inner quality of desperation and need.
12/15/06
Top CriticThis is one of the few American movies to deal with how people live and survive. It admires smart brokers but also feels for the many people down below, and we know that Chris will not claim his 'happyness' by becoming a cold fish in a glass office.
12/15/06
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