By the numbers feel good movie is a bit too by the numbers

Rating: 5/10 (16 September 2007)

Well made, well intentioned movie about a man who gets custody of his son as his life implodes and he takes an unpaid internship in the hope that it leads to something greater.
So sweet it hurts. So manipulative you get whip lash. So obvious you wonder why you're watching. Its a good movie but I felt manipulated. This is the uplifting tale of a man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to become a success, and it hits all the numbers in a way that seems more like a self empowerment seminar rather than a real movie. Whether this has to do with the fact that the real life counterpart of Will Smith's character does just that I don't know, but it doesn't make for completely gripping viewing since odds are you know how its going to come out.
I don't hate the movie, its not bad, but jeeze give me a chance to connect on my own with out flipping the cliché switches (how many clichés can a real life story have?.)