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Will Smith's heartfelt performance elevates The Pursuit of Happyness above mere melodrama.
All Critics (174) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (117) | Rotten (57) | DVD (13)
Deserves kudos for avoiding saccharine sentiment, but its relentless emphasis on money as the cure for all ills is depressing. They might as well have called it The Pursuit of Richyness. Jan 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Deserves kudos for avoiding saccharine sentiment, but its relentless emphasis on money as the cure for all ills is depressing. They might as well have called it The Pursuit of Richyness.
Paul Arendt
Plays like an unravelling of the Eighties comedy hit Trading Places. Instead of a smart-Alec street hustler who turns the tables on his seemingly benign patrons, we have a smart saint who simply wants to join the club. Jan 14, 2007 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…
Plays like an unravelling of the Eighties comedy hit Trading Places. Instead of a smart-Alec street hustler who turns the tables on his seemingly benign patrons, we have a smart saint who simply wants to join the club.
Charlotte O'Sullivan
The film unspools like a souped-up vanity project. Jan 14, 2007 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…
The film unspools like a souped-up vanity project.
That Will Smith is capable of this great performance should not be surprising. Jan 13, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
That Will Smith is capable of this great performance should not be surprising.
Paul Byrnes
An old-fashioned Hollywood heartwarmer. Jan 12, 2007 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
An old-fashioned Hollywood heartwarmer.
Peter Bradshaw
Smith hits all the right notes - understated, engaging, inspirational - even if his young son threatens to charm him off the screen. Jan 11, 2007 | Full Review…
Smith hits all the right notes - understated, engaging, inspirational - even if his young son threatens to charm him off the screen.
Mark Salisbury
Director Gabriele Muccino has so overloaded the story with glib anecdotes that it's often depressing and, worse, monotonous. Everything that is admirable, and there is much, is down to Smith's verve. Nov 3, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Director Gabriele Muccino has so overloaded the story with glib anecdotes that it's often depressing and, worse, monotonous. Everything that is admirable, and there is much, is down to Smith's verve.
Kaleem Aftab
Save some of those Kleenex for The Pursuit of Happyness. Jan 4, 2018 | Full Review…
Save some of those Kleenex for The Pursuit of Happyness.
Joel Siegel
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. Apr 25, 2011 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…
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.
Joshua Starnes
Counterfeit emotion and submerged racism Aug 28, 2009 | Full Review…
Counterfeit emotion and submerged racism
Fernando F. Croce
Sap, sentiment, and hokey plot devices bog down an otherwise down to earth story. Apr 29, 2009 | Full Review…
Sap, sentiment, and hokey plot devices bog down an otherwise down to earth story.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
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. Apr 23, 2009 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
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.
Tom Meek
Will Smith is absolutely splendid in this inspirational real story of struggle and determination that holds an intense dramatic power without any need to become a cheap melodrama - which is something Hollywood has long grown used to, unfortunately.
Super Reviewer
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A story that is inspirational, and moving, predictable, and moves a little too slowly is elevated considerably by the incredibly moving and touching performances of Will Smith and Jaden Smith. It could have been extremely melodramatic, but the great performances and comic moments keep it at great, emotional drama.
A father with his back to the corner battles his way back to the center of the ring. Will Smith and his son, Jaden, are superlative is this confirmation of the American dream, and you root for them every step of the way. I began thinking that Will brought out the best in his son only to realise that Jaden brought out the best in Will, making this (in my humble opinion) Will's best.
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