Intense!

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2006)

"The Pursuit of Happiness", directed by Gabriele Muccino (who I thought was a woman by hearing his name), and Italian-born director, who, until now, has only done Italian films, is about just that: pursuing happiness. The funky spelling in the fourth word of the title is taken from a daycare center in the movie, run by Asian-Americans, who have a less-than-perfect understanding of the English language.
Will Smith (that's right, the Fresh Prince) plays Chris Gardner, a dedicated but unlucky and unsuccessful up-and-coming businessman living in San Francisco. In 1981, when the film takes place, he is selling an X-ray-like machine to doctors, most of whom turn the product down. With his wife (Thandie Newton) working double-overtime, the three person family barely makes ends meet. (The third individual is Christopher, a five-year-old played by Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Mr. Smith's own son.) When Chris' wife leaves him, he makes the elegant but crazy decision to take care of Christopher, while trying to get a competitive internship at a brokerage firm. Because of the lack of need for Chris' medical equipment, and the fact that he doesn't get paid for the internship, Chris and Christopher leave their apartment, move into a motel, and, eventually, and only for a night, into a public bathroom at a BART stop.
What makes "The Pursuit of Happiness" such a great film to watch is because of Mr. Smith's performance. It is so intense, so utterly watchable, that it makes the film. Many scenes in the film, however, involve Mr. Smith running from place to place, without a lot of time to spare. I question the necessity of these scenes; they clog up the film, and make it seem as though the filmmakers were not confident in Mr. Smith's acting ability, so they shot a few minutes of his sprinting. Well, they are proved wrong time and time again over the course of this 110-minute film. Will Smith should garner at least an Oscar nom for his brilliant work in this film.
Steven Conrad, whose last screen writing gig was "The Weather Man", a much darker, more cynical and crass black comedy, seems back on track with this film. However sappy the film is, and it is some, Mr. Conrad reins himself in whenever he feels the urge to uplift, and, as Chris says at one point, "bring me back to Earth." While this "Earth" is a moderately over-dramatized and somewhat-silly one, it pulls us in, and keeps up the pace for nearly two hours.
This is a sublime film, though it is a little dramatized, and somewhat overly sappy. I won't spoil the ending here, but let me tell you, the ole' waterworks were going at a milllion miles per hour for the last ten minutes of the film. When Chris' wife is walking out the door, he tells her to "get happy." When I saw this film, I did.