The Pursuit of Money

Rating: 4/10 (29 February 2008)

The plot of this movie is about the pursuit of money, not happiness - unless you think that money equals happiness. The film itself isn't too bad, although a lot of the time you feel very frustrated. The endless running around while lugging that machine is like a nightmare. The metaphor of the burden isn't lost on me but I wish they'd fixed it sooner to save my throat from yelling at the screen for him to throw it away. The acting too is pretty good on the whole and maybe an American audience does equate money with happiness; the honesty of the plot and premise would seem to suggest so as there's no hint of irony in the use of the word and the goal of cash. It wasn't like he even wanted to be a stockbroker, it was just a way of making money. The plot device of having him see all the smiling stockbrokers (in possession of happiness) doesn't help, in fact it makes it worse as here too the movie is equating simple wealth with happiness. Maybe it is the American dream and I just don't get it. For the record, I've got nothing against wealth and money, I'm all for it, but I wouldn't create a story called 'The Pursuit of Happiness' (sic), then make the whole thing about the pursuit of money. Just my million cents worth...