THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
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As Heard in the Film review by Clark Douglas: I really wanted to like this film. It's an inspiring true story about an inspiring guy. The movie stars a likeable guy in Will Smith, and is directed by the talented Italian film maker Gabriele Muccino. But the movie tried too hard to force me to like it. Watching it is like being hit over the head with a plastic baseball bat by a person screaming, "love me, adore me, admire me!"
The inspiring guy I speak of is Chris Gardener, played quite well by Will Smith. Chris is a decent husband, a decent father, and a struggling salesmen (he tries to sell bone density scanners to doctors). When things get tight, Chris's screechy wife (the talented Thandie Newton, wasted here) decides to jump ship, leaving poor Chris alone with his young son, Christopher (played here by Will Smith's own son, Jaden).
Things start to get terrible for Chris, as his life develops into a comic tragedy, or perhaps a tragic comedy, I don't know which. Either way, it sucks for him. He is tossed into jail for failing to pay parking tickets. He can't pay his rent, leaving him homeless. He isn't making any sales. He applies for an internship at a major brokerage firm, and gets it, but doesn't receive any pay. Through all of this, he has to take care of his son. A particularly sad scene sees them spending the night in a public restroom, as Chris tries to convince his son that they're playing make-believe, spending the night in a cave.
The most fascinating aspect of the story is the way Chris Gardener refused to give in to the pressure life put him under, meeting every demand his internship requires be met, even when he has less time and resources than his competitors. Oddly, the film does not choose to focus on this, nor does it really spend enough time focusing on Chris's relationship with his son. Instead, we're given a series of tragic moments (which I've all ready mentioned) and silly moments. Chris repeatedly has his bone density scanners stolen by hippies (that happens to me all the time), giving us about fifteen minutes of chase scenes. Chris realizes he doesn't have taxi fare, and leaps out of his cab in an attempt to get away without paying. This leads to another chase scene. The filmmakers devise numerous other ways to keep Chris running up and down the streets of downtown trying to meet deadlines, which reminded me of Morgan Freeman in "Along Came a Spider", just without the serial killer element.
The film's worst flaw is Smith's completely unnecessary narration. He spells out everything that's happening onscreen ("this is the part of my life called 'riding the bus'... this is the part of my life called 'getting an internship'"). Not only that, but he tells us how to feel, and how he is feeling, and so on, when it's all quite obvious. When a man is crying, we don't need his inner voice to inform us that he is sad. If you see the film, imagine each scene without the narration, and consider how much more effective and subtle they would be.
I must confess, I didn't really care for composer Andrea Guerra's score, either. Sure, it's pleasant, melodic music with a slightly European flavor, but most of the time, it only adds to the overdose of sentimentality. The score is anchored by a sugary, slightly irritating main theme that feels a bit too cutesy, and the fact that it appears countless times doesn't help. I suspect the score might make a pleasant listen on album, but it doesn't really add anything of value to the movie. R&B and gospel tunes from Stevie Wonder and others also play a small role, particularly in the second half of the film.
The film's final scene is perhaps indicative of the film as a whole. Smith and his son are walking and talking, sharing a warm father-son moment. Good vibes all around. Suddenly, there's a walk-on cameo by Chris Gardener himself, which completely distracts from the scene. It's a small cameo, he doesn't say anything, but it's enough to take us out of the scene and make us realize we're watching a movie. In one way or another, that happens again, and again, and again. Why is it that "true stories" are almost always made into less convincing films that fictional ones? Add "The Pursuit of Happyness" as another title on that list.
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Running Time: ## minutes ## seconds
Varese Sarabande VSD-6783 (2006)
Music composed and conducted by Andrea Guerra. Orchestrations by Antongiulio Frulio and Dana Niu. Recorded and mixed by Robert Fernandez and Joel Iwataki. Edited by Michael Boustead. Album produced by Andrea Guerra.
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