The Pursuit of Happyness (Widescreen Edition)

Holy Cow. I'm an old guy with a lot of movies behind me. I didn't know that a movie could still get to me like this one did.

Will Smith and his real life son Jaden Smith potray Chris Garder and his son Christopher in a moving story about surviving tough times and percevering. This displays how far the strong bond between father and son could take you in life, love helped them carry on. Chris knew that he had do something to make his son's future bright and he did just that! Check out this movie, anybody with a soul will be inspired!

Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness (which stars Will Smith and his actual son Jaden) is about Chris Gardner. Chris is a smart, capable guy, but he's gotten himself into a bad situation. He sunk his life savings into selling bone density scanners, which don't seem to be moving very quickly. And his girlfriend Linda (played by Thandie Newton, looking as bad as a person that gorgeous can look), who's been working double shifts to make ends meet, gets fed up. She's going to leave him and take the kid, but Chris won't let her. So she leaves him AND the kid. Here's where things get interesting. In an effort to better their situation, Chris applies for a competitive broker internship. He's learned that out of a pool of 20 interns, only one will be offered a job at the end of the six-month program. He gets the internship. Problem? It's unpaid.

So, Chris has to start selling some scanners, FAST. He has moderate success, but there are still times when the father/son team is living pretty close to the bone. During some scenes, such as when the little family finds itself homeless for a while, I almost cried. These are the kinds of characters I can root for. Chris is doing everything possible to keep body and soul together and make a future for himself and his son. And sometimes, it still isn't enough. But the guy just won't give up. He powers through the worst of circumstances. He puts a brave face on for his kid. He keeps his wits about him. He doesn't cave. You gotta love a guy like that.

Will Smith is great in this. He must have gotten in awesome shape, too, because he spends alot of the movie in a flat-out run. (Talk about hustle.) And Jaden is adorable. His sweet, soft little-boy face. His good nature. His ultimate trust in his dad (on screen and off). A totally effortless performance, it was perfect for this movie. You will love this kid.

I recommend The Pursuit of Happyness. And if you're a parent, I doubly recommend it. It's absolutely inspirational.

I found this movie to be quite compelling. Beautifully composed in every regard.

The Blu-ray presentation is very nice. Picture is steadily crisp throughout. Audio quality is excellent.

As far as the movie goes, I was able to watch this while I was wore out from a day at work, and still I was able to keep my eyes pasted to the screen the whole time. Very cool movie.

Why Will's character couldn't commute from a lesser expensive place to live, I'll never know, but dragging his kid through skid row really pays off in the end! I'm being a bit critical there. Actually, wwhen all's said and done "The Pursuit of Happyness" really packs quite a punch.

I highly recommend this film.

We truly love this movie! Will Smith and his son did a fantastic job of portraying the real-life challenges that a single father faced. This is a wonderful story about perserverence, hope, and courage. Really, though, it is a story about what a real father should be; how a real man takes hold of his responsibilities, his fatherhood. (Be sure to watch the bonus features.) Oh, and you might want to grab some tissue.