Looking for a holiday feel-good movie with an inspirational message? A family-friendly tale of father-son devotion that uses the F-word in a heartwarming way? A spiritual flick that embodies some of the highest ideals of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Scientology? Then go see "The Pursuit of Happyness," Will Smith's latest star turn.
But be warned: Although this movie may have warmed my heart, it also left me feeling sullied for buying into the uplift.
The movie is inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a regular guy who endured joblessness, poverty, homelessness, and the breakup of his marriage as he struggled to take care of his young son and regain his footing on the path to the American Dream. After miraculously landing an unpaid internship with a brokerage firm in San Francisco, Gardner manages through sheer grit and apparently inexhaustible drive to win the one paying job awarded at the end of the program.
In the movie’s final moments, as we watch Chris and his five-year-old son, Christopher (played with amazing grace by Smith’s seven-year-old son, Jaden, in his film debut), walk off into their bright future, the audience learns that Gardner lived wealthily every after--starting his own investment firm and eventually selling it for many millions of dollars. Fade to black.
That’s it? Yes, it’s an extraordinary story, but what happened to the gripping storyline about the gaping chasm between the haves and the have nots? Did the real-life Gardner became a kinder, gentler person after seeing what it was like at the bottom? We never find out. This modern-day Horatio Alger tale eventually becomes unhinged from its larger messages about love, loyalty, and courage in a heartless world, and stops worrying altogether about the poorest among us.
Don’t get me wrong: I was completely seduced by the charming Smith and his adorable son, as they wring genuine angst and pathos out of this tale of one man's testing. And I mean testing: Gardner’s trials and tribulations make Job's look tame. In the end, though, I felt seduced and abandoned by this beautifully crafted movie with its garbled message.
Sure, there was faith aplenty in this film--faith in the power of love, faith in oneself, faith in one another--even faith in the Lord, conveyed in a brief but powerful scene depicting a gospel service at a homeless shelter in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. Too bad that the faith that saved the day was faith in the "Almighty Dollar."
-- Alice Chasan
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So that final 2 second write-up (at the end of the movie, mind you) ruined the whole thing for you...give me a break! That sounds very shallow on your part...but if that's the worse, then hooray for Chris Gardner, Will Smith, his adorable little boy, the writers, directors, producers, and everyone involved in the making of this spectacular movie. For the most part, your article was interesting enough but then you said, "too bad that the faith that saved the day was faith in the almight dollar". Is that your personal opinion or did you actually interview this man whose shoes you do not wear? Why don't you try that before you pass judgement. That one little comment tells me that although you are capable of giving credit where credit is due (probably for the sake of the "almight dollar", however you still feel the need to unnecessarily dig for the most irrelevant part of the film. It's a movie, just like any other that Hollywood puts out (for that "almight dollar"), and it was an excellent story about a man who had the get-up-and-go in him to weather the storm while teaching his son valuable, lifelong lessons that he can pass down to his children....can you do that?
What a wonderful movie. I cried, I felt, and I understood the pain of losing. I too lost a wife, a son, a family! This movie hit so close to home that I could literally write the next scene. Losing what little you are able to salvage from your broken life, only to lose it to someone in worse shape than you! For those of you who read this understand that a man measures himself by what he does in life. When your spouse tells you that she/he does not believe in you or share your dreams and wants more "now", YOU ARE DEVISTATED. I cried as a saw every barricade being demolished by this man. Education: High School educated not from a well to do school. Although he did take pride in knowing that the school that he attended (US NAVY) most of the people who where competeing for that internship did not have. Social Education: To be able to perform in an alien environment such as the one of the well-to-do's who were enjoying their lives and being "happy" at what they had accomplished. This character was a hungry shark in a tank of minnows. Only he did not realized how to feed fully upon the minnows in that pond called success. He adapted and he improvised his way until he found his way. My life was so much like his. I was homeless a year ago. I lost everything except for my car. I lived in that car during one of the coldest winters of my life experience. I hustled. I collected cans. I washed pots and pans for food. Every weekend, I would manage enough money to get myself a hotel room so that I could bathe and get regenerated so that I could go apply for jobs on Monday.
I was successful in finding a job, but besides losing what defined me as a man, I also lost a part of me that could not be bought in a department store. I lost my mind and I lost my faith in God.
I am still recovering from what was diagnosed as "PTSD" but my faith returned to me. I cried at the movies because that person I saw on the screen was me!
Sorry, have to completely disagree with your review. The end was not about the MONEY, it was about the success of having the means to support his child, realize his dreams (of being outstanding at something), helping others (where a lot of his money goes) and the love and "God Things" that occurred along the way to get him where he is. You see, the Bible doesn't say money is the root of all evil, it says THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Mr. Gardner did not love money, he loved his child.
To dayze (the "American" Indian) who wrote about all of the horrible people, except the Indians. Let me give you a truth; there were only 2 native people and that was Adam and Eve and that was in Africa. Everyone, including the "Native Americans" came from somewhere else. did you get a raw deal, yeah, but so did the Irish and Scottish (of which I am descended) when they came here. You need to realize that we have all had troubles and that we have all (at one tiime or another) been lied to by the government. However, the government of the USA is still the best in the world (try living in Iraq or Iran). I am not trying to put you down, however, I am tired of hearing about the evil white man who took "your" land. Your ancestor's came from somewhere else to America and just because you MAY have been here first, does not give you ownership. We are all stewards of this earth and there is room for all of us.
Gardner shows his goodwill and determination by helping the needed people of South Africa. According to his Biography. I quote: "Which is why, on this October day, Gardner keeps working those phones. It's why he's already begun writing his next book. It's why he's in talks with several networks about doing a primetime show, and why, earlier this year, he sold a minority stake in Gardner Rich to a major hedge fund. But most of all, it's why he's about to close a second round of financing -- reportedly to launch a private-equity fund focused solely on investments in South Africa." Source: Biography http://www.mastermindtrader.com/Christopher_Gardner.html
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