This movie is a lie.

Rating: 1/10 (29 March 2007)

I really did try to set aside my doubts for this one but it didn't take me long at all to get a whiff of something rotten here. On the surface what the makers of this movie want you to believe is that this a feel good movie about a single father struggling to make things right for him and his son. However whats really going on just beneath the surface is something slightly more sinister and deceptive. What happens is the issues are never actually up front and center so it look likes there is no race vs class issue at all just an average every man story set during the Regan era and who better to play the role of Chris Gardner? Someone who wouldn't stir any uneasy feelings in the viewer while they were being spoon fed lie after lie scene after scene. Enter Will Smith aka Mr.Blockbuster himself. I almost bought this notion hook line and sinker. The movie takes its time slowly removing its mask but when it does it is ugly. I don't usually care if a true story isn't to the letter accurate. Some liberties have to be taken but Pursuit of Happiness doesn't want you to know the specifics and for good reason. I urge anyone remotely curious to look up Chris Gardners story on Wikipedia. Even as just a movie it fails. Smiths real life son is terrible. Anytime things start to slow down they cue the kid to say something cute. The lack of direction is annoying. The constant reminders of the time period are false. Avoid Pursuit of Happiness if you can.