Review of Pursuit of Happyness (2005) by Grant T — 22 Dec 2012
"The Pursuit of Happyness" is a sentimental, if not exactly brilliant, film which utilizes strong performances from the lead actors, in particular the impressive Will Smith.
While roles such as Agent J in "Men in Black" had shown that Smith is capable of great performances, too often he seems to throw in a by-the-numbers approach to a film. But here, he pours his heart and his soul into the true life role of Chris Gardner.
Similarly, his son, Jaden Smith, performing as Christopher Gardner Jr, gives another great performance. I thinking having Will's real life son on the set gave that energy to the child, helping him bounce off his own father's emotions more effectively than if it was a different child with no emotional connection to Will.
It will certainly be interesting to see if we get a similar response from Jaden in "After Earth" next year.
Thandie Newton was less impressive, but she did the best she could with the material, as her character was not terribly well written.
In the end though, this film transcends the average film it could have been purely through the charisma of Will and Jaden Smith.
This review of Pursuit of Happyness (2005) was written by Grant T on 22 Dec 2012.
Pursuit of Happyness has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
