Member review

Honestly, going into this movie I didn't have high expectations: yes, I love Will Smith films, and yes, toddler Jaden Smith is great but I prefer action films to slow, emotion-producing films. Let me tell you, from my perspective, The Pursuit of Happyness (happyness is spelled correctly here, you'll see why after watching the film) is truly a memorable and captivating film based on the life story of a real person: Chris Gardner. You may have heard of Chris Gardner, and for good reason. The movie is about Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), a man in San Francisco who is running out of money due to his financial issues and inability to sell his bone-density scanning machines. He lives with his girlfriend, Linda and his young toddler Christopher (played by Jaden Smith).

Due to some events, Chris gets kicked out of his home and forced to live out and about while still taking care of Christopher and providing food, shelter and playgroup so that Chris can go and attempt to sell his bone-density scanners. His scanners are refused, rejected or have broken on the trip to hospitals. As well as this, he is kicked out from motels, homeless shelters and stations as he is not wanted there.

After not paying taxes, the government decide to reap money from his bank account, and he is left with nearly nothing.

He is confident, and is resilient to the obstacles that stand in his path. Despite being in debt and being drowned in major depression, he is still friendly and decides to be considerate to his peers. He is creative and tries to find ways to overcome difficulties, which provides the viewer a sense of hope and encouragement towards him. It invokes emotions I never thought I would feel when watching a movie, which is truly fantastic.

When a character cries, when a character laughs, or when a character is having a hard problem, you feel as though you know that character personally - the script is written carefully and decisively to prevent scenes from dragging on too long, but making them long enough to allow the viewer to get a grasp of the situation at hand in the movie.

Chris Gardner shows that failure is not a burden, yet an opportunity to enhance your own abilities and be creative to find a solution around obstacles. The acting is relatively top-notch, and I honestly recommend this film to anybody, regardless of your tastes and preferences. I went in with no expectations and came out with this film being one of my favourites ever made. I beg of you however, not to abandon this film halfway through as the ending is truthfully gratifying and will leave you feeling empowered.

The message: buy The Pursuit of Happyness right now - it's brilliant.