Get rich or die trying

Rating: 2/10 (26 November 2008)

This movie is about The American dream in a way that shows an important aspect of this; that you can "pursue happynness" without the restrictions of class, caste, religion, race, or ethnic group.
Chris Gardner is really struggling to achieve his dream to the point where he looses almost every thing in his life and when he finally succeeds it feels like justice has been served. So this story is a testament to the idea that it is only a matter of skill and will where you will end on the social ladder and because Chris Gardner has both in abundance he climbs to the very top.
I must admit, that entertainment is important when watching a movie and that for some reason I wasn't entertained during this one. To me it felt repetitious to watch Chris Gardner struggle and it was as if the story was spiced up with humor that again felt repetitious and as if it was forced upon me. The Schizophrenic who thought that the Scanner was a time-machine wasn't one bit funny the way I saw it but it was as if I was supposed to think so.
The whole deroute aspect of the story, which of course is a way of showing us how hard he fought, played to big a part. Unpaid bills, the car that got towed away, the wife that leaves him, problems with selling the scanners and so on. In my opinion this could have been showed in a much more subtle way but then again maybe this is what the whole story is about; not to give up on your dream no matter the circumstances.
Chris Gardner accepts the game - he is in no way critical of the way American society works. That for instance homeless people live next to people with an income that is beyond comprehension to the average citizen. He just wants the "Ferrari" himself and thereby the movie becomes mediocre and entirely materialistic.
Regards Simon
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