Movie Review: "The Pursuit of Happyness"

Simply put, a great movie. I'm always good for one feel-gooder during the holidays and this one is almost perfectly suited for my tastes. Granted, a part of the draw for me is the time period - the movie is set in the early 80s and there's numerous period references during the movie (ala Miracle) that make you feel really at home if, as was the case with me, the 80s were your home.

The storyline itself has a nice Clintonian feel to it, also. Chris Gardner, our protagonist, is a struggling dad with a wife splitting away, landlords kicking him to the curb, and seemingly nobody giving the guy a break. He's played by the rules, done all the right things ... and still keeps getting kicked down. But by sheer will of determination and devotion to his son, he makes it as a stockbroker.

The real-life Chris Gardner had a slightly different story, but the jist of the bootstrap routine is all there. What's so great about the movie is that it pulls at the heartstrings just a tad, but never goes for too overly sentimental of a putsch for a universally tear-jerking scene. There's a few that get close, but on the whole, it's a subtle movie in this regard.

There's one moment in particular that I absolutely love and haven't seen it get enough mention in any review or film clip. Working from memory, I believe it was when Jay Twistle (the partner who hired Gardner at the firm) meets Gardner in the bathroom during a reflective moment coming off of a voice-over soliliquoy. Gardner had just taken his license exam and it was the last (or next to last?) day of Gardner's internship with the firm. Out of 20 interns, one would survive the cut and get hired. And it's an all-or-nothing moment for the movie (not to mention Gardner). In the voice-over, our movie hero notes the feeling he'd get when he did good in school, feeling as if there was nothing he couldn't do afterwards. There was nothing limiting his capabilities. With the internship at Dean Witter, the sense was a bit different for Gardner. Therein lies the complexity for him. Enter Twistle, who offers a pep talk of sorts, noting that "Whatever happens out there tomorrow, know that you did a good job. Take care of yourself."

Two separate endeavors ... doing a good job on the one hand; taking care of yourself on the other. I may be the only one, but I'd offer that as a great movie moment for this genre. The scene didn't linger or overly dramatize the point, which goes to my point about its subtlety. It's a very spartan sentimentality throughout the movie, with maybe one or two scene-stealing type of moments thrown in.

The LA Times notes that the movie represents a rather "low key" role for Will Smith. Agreed. And maybe that's what makes the movie such a curiosity. Smith doesn't try too much outside of what the role calls for here. It's not necessarily an earth-shattering performance ... it's just very well done for the job at hand. Perhaps the only bit of overkill was the inclusion of a few moments that warranted the PG-13 when a PG could have very well been done without losing anything from the movie. That mark alone means that any self-respecting and law-abiding 12 year old will have to wait a year for what could and should be a great Horatio Alger-esque story for a fairly broad audience.

The AV Club is in all-out cynic mode for this one, however:

It doesn't give nearly enough credence to the fact that Smith's wife had good reason for leaving him: Risking your family's basic survival on a long-shot dream isn't all that heroic, regardless of his eventual success.

Way to live the American dream, kiddos! Yes, I suppose they could have shot a wonderful movie from the wife's perspective about how she bolted, ran off to Europe, and um ... well, apparently we don't know how that one ended, but the Onion reviewers presume it's at least one a relatively similar heroic plane to what Gardner did. Nevermind that the real life story from the wife's perspective is significantly harder to clean up for a movie the way this version was.

For the rest of the world with an ounce of holiday cheer, check the movie out. It's good stuff and I want to go on record for predicting Jaden Smith getting an Oscar nomination.

SIDENOTE: I didn't realize this until I got home and checked IMDB, but Dan Castellaneta has a pretty significant role in the movie. Is it wrong that I'm considering a repeat viewing just to see if there's any nod to Homer Simpson in his material?