Genres

Visitors Review

mike clegg 2012-05-19 15:30:50

Will make you open your eyes to how hard life can be!

First off Great film, it'll will make you really think about how hardlife can be, and how you should push yourself that little bit furtherto get what you really want or need from life!Awesome acting by Will Smith as per usual, and great performance by hisson Jaden. Smith gives a very convincing display of the challenges ofpoverty that face many people, and how he goes about overcoming them,whilst trying to care for his child.I heard from my friends that this film was long, so i expected it todrag out, like some films do, where you just end up looking forward tothe end, but its not like that at all, with a run time of about 2 hoursyou'll very likely be hooked for the whole duration.Definitely recommended!

aadhithya anbahan 2012-05-19 12:34:18

this is a truly worthwhile and heart rendering watch

will smith must definitely be up for a best actor award this year. hisportrayal of Chris Gardner was heart warming and brought tears to eventhe worst critics.the film is subtly manoeuvred and nothing is overdone, in a film whichcould easily go overboard. Jaden is a charm! and will surely take afterhis father, the bond between the 2 is evident on screen and exquisiteto watch as the tale unfolds. the struggle of one mans journey isextraordinary, how he faces all the pit falls and speed bumps lifethrows his way. will smith has played down his looks and physique inthe film choosing to appear as a slight grey haired salesman. but hischarm and wit is evident in every line.this truly is a beautiful film, with an award winning cast. a must seeof 2007. a true Pursuit of Happiness.

jamiemarks-1 2012-05-16 06:27:32

It had so much potential, but it bitterly disappoints. Boring, uninspiring and very annoying.

The Pursuit of Happiness follows the story of Chris Gardner and hisfive year old son Christopher in the early eighties as they end up onthe street after Chris's wife leaves them. Gardner struggles to paybills, do his job well where has to sell a advanced x-ray machine tohospitals to earn money. He and his son end up sleeping on the streets,at a motel, a bathroom and a homeless shelter and his only hope is astockbroker internship programme with twenty applicants and only onecan be hired.This film in a way is similar to the phenomenal Seven Pounds withGabrille Muccino of sadness etc. I was really looking forward to thisfilm and thought it would be amazing if not very good. People havedescribed this as inspiring, hopeful and emotional. I felt none ofthat. This was so bitterly disappointing for me. To me this movie isjust plain crap. Will Smith gives a reasonable performance, but Iexpected much more. I know this is based on a true story and living onthe streets is bleak and horrifying and the film depicts itrealistically well, but it just gets crammed down your throatconstantly as though you are too dumb as an audience to understand whatis happening. Gardner runs after people who steal his x-ray machine, hegets some money to get by, he loses some,find a place to sleep with abed then has to sleep on the street. It's like a repeating time loopand just becomes so repetitive that I just got bored and very annoyed.There are a few touching moments between Smith and his real life sonJaden who plays Christopher but it's few and far between and when itdoes come it's far too late. I just didn't care about them or therestory.There is little or if no hope in this film at all even thoughhe's pursuing happiness. So he gets the job at the end? It's more likethe money that makes him happy.This films mocks you with the title as there is no happiness and thoughthe ending is meant to depict that. I felt nothing and I wasuninspired. Not to mention in moments when the film is sad there ishappy music. What's that about? There's little bonding between fatherand son and even the son was getting on my nerves. One of the mostdisappointing and overpraised movies I have seen. I just feeldepressed, very annoyed and absolutely conned. Seven Pounds isfantastic see that instead. Not this deceitful boring garbage.

2012-05-15 11:09:34

Wow.

I knew about the story that this is based on. Frankly I didn't think that Will Smith could pull it off. But he did. This is a great film and Will Smith did a great job. I haven't seen The Last King of Scotland yet... but this is LIGHT YEARS better than The Departed and Will Smith out-acted ALL of the actors in it. This performance is something to be proud of and he really did the story justice.

ferrierdf 2012-05-13 19:44:52

Book of Job story retold in modern setting

The Pursuit of Happiness is a film loosely based on a Bible story, theone told in the Old Testament's Book of Job.In the Book of Job, Lucifer (the Devil) claims that Job is faithful toGod only because Job's faith had never been tested. God allows Luciferto torment Job as a test of Job's faith. The rest of the Book of Jobconsists of a recounting of the many trials Lucifer makes Job endure,and how Job remains faithful to God throughout.In the movie, Chris Gardner, the protagonist, is faithful to capitalismbecause his belief in it has not been tested. He, like Job, enduresmany tribulations. However, Gardner remains faithful to capitalism. In the movie's "rags to riches" ending, Gardner gets a job as anapprentice stockbroker. He prospers, and we are told he goes on tofound his own stock brokerage firm.As Gardiner endures tribulation, attempts to achieve his goals, andeventually grabs the brass ring of success, he drags his young sonalong with him. Unfortunately, the movie never says what eventuallybecomes of Gardner's son.

ryman1000 2012-05-13 03:57:55

Utterly touching

I went in to the cinema not really knowing what to expect of this film.I thought it might be another badly acted emotional film that bores youfor 2 hours. But I was wrong. This film is superb. Will smith plays hispart great and although it was very touching many parts of it were veryfunny.The story line was great and to think that the film was based on a truestory it made me think about how lucky I was sitting watching a film ona 80 inch screen spending over £30 when this guys entire money was £20.When i got home that night and went to sleep i imagined what it musthave been like for him and i felt as though i was a part of this manslife and thats what made the film so great.Throughout the film you wanted things to be good for this man. Whenthings went bad you felt as though you wanted to help.I loved this film and i think many others will too.I hope you found this useful.

SummerMood 2012-05-10 01:53:13

How can one person have so much misfortune?

I've never known how one only person can have so much misfortune- 'tilnow. That movie is excellent! The movie shows us what life can be. Wehave to work for what we dream of. And we have to fight for it. Don'tlet you tell by other people that you can't do the things you want todo! That's what Will Smith wants to tell us in that movie.He lived together with his wife Linda and his son Christopher in asmall apartment in San Francisco. The couldn't pay the rent. And thenChris' wife Linda left him and Christopher. They had to move into amotel. But after a longer time they were thrown out of the motel. Theywalked through the city but couldn't find any apartment to sleep in. Sothey had to sleep in a bathroom in the subway. That was the mostemotional scene in that movie. Chris and Christopher were sitting inthe bathroom and when Christopher had fallen into sleep Chris (Smith)had begun to cry. It was so emotional! The most emotional scene in thismovie. He worked hard to get money to find a apartment to sleep in orto buy food. Another emotional scene was, to my opinion, the scene inthe church where so many poor people stood and prayed to god and werecrying.To see what some people live like is very hard. To see in what miserythey do live every day. I think Will Smith should win the Oscar for that role! He was sobrilliant! I gave that movie 10 of 10 stars, because it was so brilliant, soemotional and had a perfect cast!

karthik-globalsoul 2012-05-09 19:25:35

The Pursuit of Happiness – or the happiness of pursuit

(Karthik Narayan)My good friend joked, "Is it the pursuit of happiness or the happinessof pursuit?" Well you never know what happiness is... Two songs thatcome to my mind are: "It's all about the Money" by Meja and "Ka ching"by Shania Twain. Though both songs have different perspectives, theidea is simple – is money happiness? How can you find happiness in a place that can't even spell it right? –Chris Gardener just opened up my mind to the question of what happinessis. I managed to ask a few people just to get vague answers like – whatyou like vs. what you get is matched and the result is happiness orotherwise. Is money happiness? Is fame happiness? Is glory happiness? Is beingable to match wits with the best minds in the world happiness? Is merithappiness? So many questions with no answers. But then I remember the opening lines of the Hitchhiker's Guide to theGalaxy (Douglas Adams) which reads – "This planet has - or rather had -a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy forpretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for thisproblem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements ofsmall green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole itwasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy." So in the hope that this movie would help me find the answer, I satthrough the troubles of Chris Gardener (Will Smith) and his cute son(his real life son). What I saw was the hardship of poverty; how inspite of not being able to make ends meet, a person can come out andwin in life. And most importantly, how society looks so happy when youare not able to even understand what it means to be so. Life is like bending a steel bar. A steel bar is so rigid that you needto exert yourself to try and bend it. Happiness is the result of hardwork. When the attempt to bend blends with a positive result, we wouldbecome happy. But happiness doesn't end with bending one bar. There is no recipe for happiness. It is not just an emotion – it is thepurpose of life. Why do we pursue happiness – to complete our otherwiseincomplete life? Why do we live? It is not to wait for death, but tobring joy into the lives of many people including ours. Will Smith continues to impress many of us in this movie. The movieisn't a blockbuster because it was full of violence, abuse, expletives– the theme is simple; the actors are simple. Sans heavy makeup thatmake them handsome. Will Smith's transition from a cool guy to an actor who can taste anddisplay emotions of normal people is groovy. There are some instances when you don't know whether to laugh or to cry– these provide comic relief from the otherwise serious turn of eventsin the movie. The message is simple – have dreams, never give up and follow thosedreams; you will get to where you want to be.This movie will provide you happiness when you find the DVD and afteryou are finished watching it, a smile that says it all. How this missed getting into the Top 250 movies of all time is awonder! More miracles, such good acting went unnoticed at the placewhere they gave away awards for so called "Bests" of the year 2006.

ufndt 2012-05-05 01:45:12

Great story - long winded

The story of one man's struggle and pursuit of happiness in the face ofeconomic adversity is never more compelling than that of Chris Gardner.Unfortunately, when translated into film it delivers a depressing,drawn-out movie.Simply but, the actors were perfectly cast and their performances wereextraordinary but the lack of dialogue and characters makes this theAfrican-American equivalent of Cast Away, only it's a true story. The movie dwells too much on minute details of despair and overlooksthe incredible achievements which are accomplished by Gardner. WillSmith and Jaden Smith were incredible though.

markd3-2 2012-05-04 15:24:40

Happiness Film = Appreciation

Will Smith is so talented and does an incredible job in this movie,where he's in every scene.Watching this movie made me appreciate, over and over again, mypersonal current situation of not having to go through the strugglesWill Smith portrays in the movie.How many of us take our homes, beds, food, jobs, and relationships forgranted? It's also heartwarming to see the relationship and bondbetween father and son and how it plays out in the various dramas theylive through.This movie doesn't offer the usual fluff on comedy or action-adventure,rather it's a very real look at how difficult life can be and how somehave to struggle desperately just to survive.

perlner 2012-05-02 09:33:42

Not so happy.

This movie's tough to watch. It's well done and it's vaguely realistic(it *is* based on a true story), and it's a pleasure to see Will Smithon screen with his actual son, who's very cute. But it gets prettyhairy in the middle - so depressing that even the expected payoff atthe end doesn't seem worth it, somehow. It's not really a tearjerker -just more of a downer.There are, however, very funny moments, with the typical Will Smithhumor.And yes, the misspelling of the title is deliberate, and addressed inthe movie.

2012-05-01 17:03:38

Wooah

This was an excellent movie! There are few movies like this anymore. This movie does a wonderful job of telling the story of a man who had a dream and wouldn't let anything get in the way of his dream. Will Smith and his adorable (real life) son Jayden do an excellent job in this movie! It is truly an inspiration for anyone who has a dream! This is a wonderful movie for famlies, couples, and people of almost any age (young children may not understand the story). I highly recommend this movie!

2012-04-30 23:17:50

The Pursuit of Happyness - Great Family Movie

Will Smith does an excellent job and it's a great family movie for all.

2012-04-30 09:42:50

Find the happyness

This review is from: The Pursuit of Happyness [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Simplemente maravillosa. No imaginaba a un comediante como Will Smith en un film de tan hondo contenido humano. Excelente actuación.

ebywaters1 2012-04-26 05:49:43

Excellent job

I cried tears of joy at the end of this movie. Being from Africa, Isometimes feel that as Africans, our full potentials or qualificationsare ignored in America due to our accent or other unwritten reasons. Ihave many friends from Africa, not to mention relatives, who havecollege diplomas (up to doctorate degrees) but yet either have no jobsor have minimum wage jobs. I sometimes seriously think of writing abook called "The Land of No Opportunity". When I watch my own brotherwho used to be a big personality back home go through what he goesthrough in America, it makes me want to cry daily. He never gives upthough and is always working on the next international deal.

2012-04-25 13:50:55

Wow so depressing

This review is from: The Pursuit of Happyness (Amazon Instant Video) I read great reviews about this film and was looking forward to seeing it. But wow how depressing. The pursuit of happiness should have been called the pursuit of misery...

2012-04-23 14:05:06

The Persuit of Happyness

Wonderful performances by Will Smith and his son Jaden. Based on a true story, this film was well done, well written and fascinating to watch.

Jay Addison 2012-04-23 09:05:50

It's a film you really want to like...

Expect to cry when you see this film for the first time. Some of thescenes are very emotional, and very sad as well. And yet this isn't amovie you leave feeling terrible- it's a movie of hope. It's a movieyou really want to love.Will Smith gives a stunning performance as Chris Gardner, a man livingon the streets with his son as he tries to get hired as a stockbroker.Smith's performance is beautiful and he truly gives the performance ofa lifetime. His pain looks and feels completely real. He deserves theBest Actor Oscar. He's that good.His performance is only made twenty times better by the touching andtruly amazing story. For a long time, it seems that nothing can goright for this man. It seems that the world is really against him. Heloses everything- yet he still has hope. He holds on to that distanthope that drives and connects with us all. That distant hope that hefeels translates to the audience in a way that we can hardlyunderstand. We only know it's a feeling that we don't want to everlose. We all can feel lost and out of luck at times, but this inspiringfilm tells us we have to keep moving and keep trying. There is hope inthe distance, and though the struggle may be fierce, when we reach thathope it's worth it all.So, yes, this is a movie you really want to like, and it is very easyto do so. It offers hope to a sometimes hopeless world. And, in theend, it is impossible not to love it. 7/10 stars and it deserves everyone! Jay Addison

lolo3636 2012-04-16 15:43:24

a father determined to make a better life for his son

i really enjoyed watching this movie and would highly recommend anysingle parent, father or mother, who have struggled to make ends meetto see this movie. skill, determination, and the right choices all playroles in this movie. will smith plays a terrific father who decides totake care of his child, who is played by his own son. there are partsin the movie that allow you to feel the pain and frustration he isfeeling in the movie. all the questions and problems they are dealingwith aren't any different than what every person in this country isdealing with in one form or another. this movie makes you look aroundand appreciate all the little things we take for granted everyday witha new attitude.

itaught34 2012-04-15 20:59:27

One of the best of the year, truly

Having seen so much violence and drudgery and sadism in 2006, what arefreshing experience is THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Will Smith and hisson Jaden give tremendous performances, and the story is involving andgripping all the way through.Based on real events, the journey from failure and poverty to possiblesuccess and redemption is a harried but rewarding one. You can reallyfeel for the father who wants to do right by his son, and who alsoneeds to prove his worth to himself. Life can be hard - yet there is the hope that hard work andperseverance will pay off. Plus, the warm relationship between thefather and son is one in which many can identify. This is the type of film that should be given awards (but will probablybe overlooked.)