Smith is good, but overall I was not impressed

Rating: 5/10 (16 December 2006)

I will watch almost anything Will Smith is in, but I felt let down by this movie. The local reviewer, who watches 150 movies a year, gave it a B+, but I give it a C. I seldom disagree with my local reviewer, but I do here.
Smith is good, but, believe it or not, maybe his pair of "Bad Boys" with Martin Lawrence were far better. His son, Jaden, plays his son in the movie, and he does an excellent job for a child actor. It helps, I guess, having two parents who are accomplished actors.
The audience, largely African-American, applauded the outcome of the man struggling to survive a time with no income as a single parent to his five year old son, which is no spoiler because all the reviews talk about it. I didn't, maybe because we all knew he would prevail if we read any reviews at all, and it is "inspired by a true story." I was expecting more. My local review said it would pull at the heart strings of men who relive or longed for such a relationship with their father. While reading the review, in my mind I was thinking "Field of Dreams." But no. I felt manipulated when it was over. Sorry, Will, but you were good. Not necessarily Oscar material, as the local reviewer said, unless the stars of Oscar politics point to you.