Review of The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) by Vaikelly — 24 Mar 2011

I gave this movie 8 out of 10, for the simple reason and premise that it is based upon a real story, and that the performances are strong and true to its overall content. Will Smith is NOT the revelation of this movie, it is his son, Jaden.

Strange irony for me to say this, because Smith is one of the most talented actors/performers alive and is a personal favorite of mine. Director Gabriele Muccino hasn't done anything extraordinary, but has simply made an ordinary, real-life story extraordinarily uplifting.

And he has his actors as well as Andrea Guerra's moving background score to thank. Probably disrespectful for me to say this, considering that a movie's success/failure depends entirely on its direction and concept.

So let me retract my earlier line about the director! Smith's Chris Gardner might probably be the unluckiest guy in the world, as he runs around with what could safely be described as 'an object from outer space,' but does so with such urgency that even his own wife, played horribly by Thandie Newton, thinks it's a useless idea.

Funny she should think that, considering she moved in with Chris in a new house because the objects (portable bone density scanners) once seemed highly potential for their future. Newton's Linda Gardner is a bit too unnatural and hurried for me.

If she had reasons to be so cross and frustrated with Chris and their normal life, she probably could have done with a few more scenes, either shadows or memories from the past or even the present. But Linda felt a bit too hyper anxious and helpless.

Jaden Smith doesn't disappoint in his movie debut - the kid can act! And what's more, he does it seemingly effortlessly. I wonder if Smith was just stunned and speechless during the outtakes, because sometimes, Junior Smith can be so impeccably natural.

What moved me equally was the beautiful score by Andrea Guerra - it was just the foundation that the movie needed. It was calm, subdued, powerful, and emotional. When, in the scene where Chris is told that he's got a job and he gets out of the office to enjoy a rare moment of sheer happiness and even personal vindication, the background emphatic score lifts the spirit up as much as Smith's precise and wonderful performance does.

All in all, it was a wonderful movie in life lessons. And lastly, before I forget, I enjoyed the Happyness part, the graffitti on the wall that Chris Gardner was so conscious and expressive about. Funny he should be so insightful and verbal about such typos when his own life was a train wreck going downhill! This is the magic of the movie - it is the painful irony of life, and the eventual joy of true hard-earned satisfaction in the pursuit of real 'happyness.