Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

[roguem]

Spoiler free.
I went to the cinema on Monday with 

isil80 to see this. Both of us had really wanted to see it, and we finally found a day that fit for the both of us, was it worth the wait? Yes.

 

The Pursuit of Happyness

I didn't quite know what to expect when I first entered the cinema. I'd seen the trailer, and heard the word that it was good, but usually with these types of movies I'm either bored out of my mind or I just think it's okay.
I really enjoyed this film though, we all knew how it would turn out before the movie began, but this movie was about the journey getting there, not the goal itself, and I really enjoyed that. The ups and downs of Will Smith's character, Chris Gardner, struggling with staying on his feet and taking care of his son, Christopher, it was very well told. 
It was so hard to think that this was the same Will Smith that was in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and the "Men in Black" movies. He's really grown as an actor, and out of the films I've seen him in I have to say that it's his best role to date. I really enjoyed his work in this film, it was very subtle, he seemed so at ease playing this man. 
Christopher is portrayed by Will Smith's real life son; Jaden Smith, who I also thought did a very good job. The way they played together kind of reminded me of "Danny the Champion of the World" and how Jeremy Irons and Samuel Irons worked together in that film. It was a joy to watch. With the proper support Jaden Smith could make a good carere for himself. I have to admit I was very curious about how he would do, and if it was just nepotism that had won him the role. As far as I'm concerned Jaden Smith was a great choice for the part.

The film got to me, it made me think, consider how people have the drive to fight if they have the right motivation. Everything Chris did was to make things better for his son. The drive humans posess can be a remarkable thing.

Some people might find the pace of the film a bit slow, but I actually felt it was a really nice change of pace compared to the other thing's I've been watching lately.

This one will end up in my DVD collection at some point.

The trailer for those of you that are curious:
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Comments

[deanandsam.livejournal.com]

I thought that looked really good, but I haven't been to see it myself! Glad you liked it.

[roguem.livejournal.com]

Hope you get a chance to check it out.

[http://users.livejournal.com/ladywolf_/]

Jeg har så lyst til å se den filmen.. Siste dagen den går her i morgen, så jeg må nok vente til den kommer på dvd. Fillern. Overlever vel..

[roguem.livejournal.com]

Håpe du får sett den.
Det er jo ikkje sånn film du må sjå på kino, men anbefale at du får sett den.

Stilig icon.

[http://users.livejournal.com/ladywolf_/]

nei, jeg kan vel leve med å se den på dvd. For det var jo ikke mye snakk om å ut på kino i dette været.. hehe.

takk takk :) jeg har fått et lite kick på å lage animasjonsikoner..

[roguem.livejournal.com]

Nei, huff best å holde seg inne.

Hehe, ja eg ser det. :D

[mystic-reader.livejournal.com]

I loved this movie! I got teary eyed several times during it. Like the first night they spent in the mens bathroom.. That was heart breaking! Will Smith did an amazing job.. I thought he deserved an oscar..

[roguem.livejournal.com]

It got to me, but I didn't tear up, I rarely do. But I agree the scene in the bathroom was heart breaking.
Will Smith defenetly deserves recognition for his work in this film.

[fresco-senorita.livejournal.com]

POH was so good! I agree with everything you've said about it! :D Will Smith has for sure grown into a stronger actor since Bel Air.

[roguem.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it, it was great.
It's actually very nice to see such progress in an actor like Will Smith has gone through.

[miss-nightowl.livejournal.com]

Du er så flink til å gå på kino, du! Jeg får liksom aldri måka meg av gårde - det er så mye som ikke bryr meg, og selv av de jeg VIL se får jeg bare med meg halvparten.
Har ikke vært på kino siden jul nå. Tror jeg går ca 3 ganger i året. Fæle greier.

[roguem.livejournal.com]

Eg går ikkje på kino som mykje som før, får liksom ikkje tid når eg vil. Plus at det er ikkje så mykje fristande nei.
Men eg går nok meir enn 3 gonger i året ja.

[lizamarie.livejournal.com]

I'm on the fence when it comes to Will Smith, but I have to admit that when he plays it straight (which isn't often, unfortunately), he does it well. I'd like to see this, mostly because of the father/son angle.

Have you seen him in 'Six Degrees of Separation' with Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland? It's a nice little movie, and he does a good job.

[roguem.livejournal.com]

I do prefer when he plays the seripus parts actually.
Though I did like him a lot in Independence Day too. :)
Hope you get to see the film so.

I haven't seen that, never got a chance. Do want to see it though.

[tygerx.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! It's nice to see he has that kind of range.

And I always enjoy seeing scenes of my city! :)

[roguem.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was very good. And I was very pleasantly surprised by Will's performance.

Hehe, I'll bet.
We're they good at portraying the distances between places, or did they cheat?

[tygerx.livejournal.com]

I'd say it was pretty accurate. Some streets I didn't totally recognize... but I might rent it once it comes out to go over once more. Where he took his son though for daycare was Chinatown. And where he chased the one homeless guy and retreived his 'machine' was the Washington Square park in North Beach.

[roguem.livejournal.com]

That's pretty good.

I only know about movies shot in London, but most of those cheat a lot with regards to the distance between places. The only one so far that's been as close to accurate as could be alowed is '28 Days Later'. :)