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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Synopsis
A single father takes an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm to provide a better future for his family.
Movie review
From Time Out London
With its title taken from a misspelling on the wall of the child-care centre to which salesman Chris Gardner (Will Smith) sends his five-year-old son Christopher, this tale of one man’s struggle over adversity to live the American Dream is so far-fetched that if it wasn’t ‘inspired by a true story’, you’d never believe a word of it.With bills stacking up and his wife (Thandie Newton) gone to NYC, college dropout Chris enrols as an intern at a stockbrokers’. Life couldn’t get much worse. Kicked out of their apartment, father and son (played by Smith’s kid Jaden) bounce between homeless missions until Chris, hopefully, secures a job.
Given the task of marshalling the saccharine in Steven Conrad’s script, it’s a credit to Italian director Gabriele Muccino and Smith that they largely eschew the sentimental option. Smith hits all the right notes – understated, engaging, inspirational – even if his young son threatens to charm him off the screen.
Author: Mark Salisbury
Time Out London Issue 1899: January 10-17 2007
Cast & crew
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Producer: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, James Lassiter
Cast: Will Smith, Thandie Newton, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Brian Howe, James Karen, Dan Castellaneta, Kurt Fuller full cast
Genre(s): Drama
Duration: 117 mins
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