The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

If the goal of this movie was to make the viewer feel bad for someone, it has been successful. I guarantee that if you watch The Pursuit of Happyness, by the end you will feel bad for yourself. This is the story of how Chris Gardner's life falls apart, and how he pulls himself and his son up out of poverty to make something for his family. This is basically a true story, and I am happy for the actual person, Chris Gardner, who was able to turn his life around, but that does not make the movie any good. Basically, this film tries to make the audience feel bad for a person's whose problems are, for the most part, his own fault. Chris definitely is the victim of some bad luck, but the situations he puts himself in are of his own doing. While I feel bad for him, and especially for his child, I can only have so much sympathy for someone who caused his own downfall. Will Smith is ok in this movie. The character and his portrayal seem overindulgent, almost as though it was written and acted in hopes that Will Smith might receive an award. The wife is portrayed as a horrible person who cares more about herself than she does even about her own son. The acting I thought was fine, but I hesitate to assume that this portrayal was actually accurate to the way Chris Gardner's wife really was. The ending of this movie was nice, everything works out well, and it did cause me to have some good feelings. There are some other funny one liners and short scenes in the movie that almost salvage something watchable, but overall, The Pursuit of Happyness is excessively lacking. The direction seemed ok, and the production value was terrific, and my mom said she loved this movie, so it has that. My wife refused to watch, but she does not care for post-Fresh Prince Will Smith. Oh, and I do not care for the way 'Happyness' in the title is intentionally misspelled; I understand that it ties into the film, but I do not care for it. If someone asked me to watch this movie again, I would say no. The one positive that I can say was that at least it was better than The Legend of Bagger Vance, but that goes for almost everything. I give The Pursuit of Happyness 1 and a half stars.