The Ultimate Chase

Rating: 8/10 (27 September 2013)

The Ultimate Chase: The Pursuit of Happiness
The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) revolves around Chris Gardner (Will Smith), who quits his job and invests all his money into "high tech" bone density scanners. To make any profit he has to sell them to larger hospitals, most of which already own the machines. His wife leaves him several years later and he is left to raise his son on his own. After he is evicted from his house, he enters a program to train for a position in a stock broking company, but must go through six months of training without pay with only one intern out of twenty receiving the spot. Chris and his son live in a homeless shelter as he goes through training.
Director Gabriele Muccino generated a heartfelt cinematic piece based off a true story. He was able to portray the story of a struggling single father, trying to raise his son in the city. The movie reflects the reality of being a single parent and trying to provide for one's child, while dealing with the stress of competing in a new job market under the added and unforeseeable burden of living in a homeless shelter.
I find this movie fascinating and very touching. It is a rags to riches story, but one that required an extreme amount of sacrifice. Chris could have made it through the whole program and at the end lost the position to another contender or allowed his wife to take custody of his son, but he believed he was smart enough and desired it enough to receive the appointment, and in doing so illustrated his love for his son. He was not content to be homeless, he wanted more from life, and he was willing to chase after happiness and the ability to provide for his son. The movie was set in the early 2000s so costumes were not overly dramatic.