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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
User reviews of this film
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- Al said...
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Posted on Jun 14 2009 08:17
in my opinion this movie is heart-warming and shows us the situation of the real Chris Gardener in 1981. Will Smith's acting is very good and credible.
the only negative point is that we can see most time Smith running through SF - Report as inappropriate
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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