Genuinely moving, and tear-inducing, tale of one man's struggle against absolutely everything.

Rating: 7/10 (28 January 2007)

As the main protagonist in Gabriele Muccino's unsentimental film points out  "The pursuit of happiness" is written in to the declaration of independence. Happiness might not be, but the pursuit is. And I suppose the point of this film is to show just how miserable that pursuit can be  as all manner of things go wrong for Will Smith, son Jaden, and ever-bitchy wife (Newton).
Chris Gardner is a salesman down on his luck. Having invested his life savings in techno-marvellous (but unnecessarily expensive) bone scanners, he finds it extremely difficult to sell enough just to feed his family. His wife (a thanklessly bitchy role for Thandie Newton) has clearly had enough, and threatens to leave if Chris doesn't pick up paychecks any time soon. One day Chris sees a grin-infested man exiting an exquisitely swish sports car on his way to work. In a chance encounter, he queries to him as to what he does to earn such luxuries. He responds, "I'm a stockbroker". And from there, Gardner decides to pursue his own version of "Happiness", albeit through a very hard route.
For the most part  The Pursuit of Happiness is more of a disaster movie than a fish-out-of-water tale. After getting accepted for an internship at a stockbroking firm, the film operates as a series of events in which absolutely everything conspires against our hero and his son. From mad hippies attempting to steal his bone scanners to getting arrested for not paying parking fines, the film  despite being inspired by real events  depicts some ridiculous situations that send our hero near to the brink of bonkers. Yet despite this, The Pursuit of Happiness never feels forced, perhaps thanks to the fine performance of its lead. Smith is on fine form, as is his son Jaden, acting with a natural charm and verve that presumably runs in the family. In between the moments of anguish and desperation are some truly moving moments of father-son bonding, one of which involves our two hapless heroes having to spend the night in a train station toilet, to avoid snoozing in the street. But by the end of the film you should feel no shame in shedding a deserved tear for Gardner, as the movie manages to avoid the kind of schmaltzy sentimentality that rolls the eyes against so many other Hollywood films, for a truly heartfelt ending that gives our characters the kind of reward they have worked so diligently for. It is a hard watch at the best of times, but will win you over in the end.