Finding HappYness
by Brendan Berry
For an actor who has played a vast spectrum of roles, I still couldn’t picture Will Smith portraying Chris Gardner, whom Pursuit of Happyness is based upon. Smith has gone from a young punk in Bel-Aire, to a fighter pilot saving the planet, to one of the greatest boxers in history, and passed my expectations each time. I think it’s hard for anyone to focus on his performance when you picture a younger version of him in a neon tank top yelling at a taxi driver, “Yo, home to Bel-Aire!” But yet again, I find myself with a mouthful as I eat not only my words, but also my previous trepidations from when I entered the theatre.
On the outside, Gabriele Muccino’s Pursuit of Happyness seems like the type of movie filled with sentimentality and emotional tugs around every turn; on the inside, Pursuit of Happyness is still filled with sentimentality and emotional tugs around every turn. Many people would think to themselves, “Oh God, not this again.” Granted, I’m one of them, but after seeing this film I can say that an overabundance of corniness isn’t always a bad thing.
Happyness takes place in the early 1980s in a San Francisco brimming with possibilities if you know how to work it. Garner spends his time trying to sell portable bone density scanners to every medical venue around, and what seemed like a good idea at the time turns out to prove more difficult as each establishment deems these scanners as expensive “luxuries.” As time progresses, Gardner’s wife, played by Thandie Newton, becomes more and more fed up and eventually leaves Chris and his young son Christopher (played by Will Smith’s actual son Jayden Christopher Syre Smith) to fend for themselves.
The main storyline of the plot kicks in when Gardner makes a decision to strive for a better life and applies for an internship as a stock broker at Dean Witter, where one out of the twenty interns is given a job. Throughout the rest of the movie, Gardner and his son face difficulties that most never have to deal with. As the internship becomes more demanding and the IRS seizes Chris’s money, he and his son are forced to live in a homeless shelter where Gardner must study for his exams under the ominous red neon light from an emergency exit sign.
The plot leads up to whether or not Chris gets the job at Dean Witter, and as most sentimental feel-good movies go, he does. The end of the movie, although predictable, is fitting. Gardner struggled throughout the film and dealt with one instance of bad luck after another. After seeing the amount of obstacles he faced, I would have been angry if he had not gotten the job, mainly due to the fact that I sat through two hours of seeing him struggle and would have gone upstairs to hit the projectionist if the film didn’t end happily.
Although the plot is somewhat predictable, it’s the performers that make Happyness worthwhile. Smith once again demonstrates that he’s more than just a slapstick comedy actor, revealing that he can connect with audiences on a level that is becoming hard to find in films these days. When I first heard that Smith’s own son would being playing Gardner’s son in the film, I found myself annoyed and worried that it would be just be the family connection that got Jayden the part. Once again, I’m eating my words and kicking myself for making assumptions. Smith’s son not only does an applause-worthy job, but also fits as Gardner’s son like a glove.
Gabriele Muccino shapes this movie into more than the usual triumphant happy-ending melodrama. He brings the audience along for an emotional ride that definitely has its highs and lows, and leaves you feeling refreshed at the end. For a guy who isn’t the biggest fan of sentimental cinema, Pursuit of Happyness certainly left me wanting to hop on the emotional ride once more.
