You've heard the story before: a man, down on his luck, overcomes obstacles through his own talents and perseverance. The Pursuit of Happyness conforms to this genre, and is consequently rather predictable. Yet, despite this obstacle, the film succeeds through the sheer force of Will Smith's personality.
Inspired by a true story, Smith plays Chris Gardner, a man who has struggled to make a better life for his family. The film traces the plummeting situation of Gardner, who after losing his savings on a failed investment, lives paycheck-to-paycheck with his wife and son. His wife eventually leaves him, and Gardner is left to provide for himself and his son. Concurrently, he serendipitously gets the opportunity to enroll in an unpaid internship program, where one person out of 20 is offered a job at the end. As Gardner labors for and schmoozes with San Francisco's business elite, he slips further and further into desperation. A good segment of the film is of Gardner literally running between these two lives; from the office, to his son's lousy day-care center, where "happiness" is misspelled (hence the title), to the various homeless shelters where he spends his nights.
While the plot drags on at points, Smith compensates for this deficiency through a stellar performance that is powerful in its honesty and lack of adornment. Gardner's son is played by Will Smith's actual son, Jaden Smith, who gives an equally endearing performance.
In one particular voice-over, Gardner muses on America's founding fathers included the "pursuit of happiness" as one of man's inalienable rights. This question forms the central concerns for both Gardner as well as the film itself. Why is pursuing happiness of so great a consequence, and not instead, being happy?
Critics of the film will cite that Smith's character is not pursuing happiness at all, but rather is pursuing greed. Or so say people who have money. The film implicitly rejects such naiveté, suggesting that in the modern, capital-driven world, happiness and prosperity are intimately connected, and that it is a childish fantasy to believe that the two are separable. This is evidenced by one paradoxically depressing, yet uplifting scene where Gardner placates his son when they are forced to sleep in a subway bathroom by pretending that they are in a prehistoric cave. Such fantasizing works for children, yet in the real world, money matters.
Despite Gardner's inspirational story, he is not placed on an untouchable pedestal and his flaws are presented in sharp relief. His economic downfall is due to his unchecked idealism, which leads him to believe that he can make a fortune selling overpriced bone-density scanners. However, he is ultimately forgiven, as this trait allows him to pursue the internship. Gardner is not portrayed sympathetically in his treatment of his wife; he takes advantage of her, and stubbornly takes custody of their son away from her.
The Pursuit of Happyness seems to be a typical rags-to-riches, inspirational tale --- and to a degree it is. Nevertheless, with a few twists as well as support from its stellar actors, the film resonates. The film will ultimately not be remembered as anything great, yet it successfully communicates its message in a way that allows you to leave the theater feeling uplifted and entertained.
