Will Smith chasing happiness...

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2007)

"The Pursuit Of Happiness" is a good based-on-true-story drama. It is the story of Chris Gardner struggling to make a living and literally pursuing happiness. Lead actor Will Smith gives a good performance. The movie succeeds because it never gets cheesy. I was afraid that the movie might be ruined by the last scene being cheesy but the scene is not cheesy at all, very well done.
*spoilers to come* "The Pursuit of Happiness" is about the life of Chris Gardner, an intelligent and hard working man. Despite his intelligence he has to really fight himself through life. This is not a movie on poverty, it is a well-narrated biography but looking for answers to questions like "What happens to people who are not as intelligent and persistent as Chris Gardner?" / "What happens with those who try hard and still fail? Are they unable to reach happiness?" / "Can poor people not be happy?" leads you to disagree with part of the movie's premise.
"The Pursuit of Happiness" is far from being a masterpiece. It is predictable, there are numerous differences between the movie and the real life of Chris Gardner, all of which can be considered to be in a way harmful to the movie's authenticity and, as mentioned before, the concept of happiness represented in the movie might be a bit too simple. These are the negative points one can find. On the other hand you will find many, many positive points, such as the performances of the actors (Will Smith in particular) and the good storytelling, that ultimately outweigh the weak points.
Gripping, moving, inspiring drama. A good film...no more no less.
*** 7/10 ****