The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Call me a softie, but I thought this movie was very good. The acting was great all around, and obsessive-compulsive me couldn’t find any technical faults with it. Sure, I’m cynical of people who aspire to be stockbrokers, but I don’t think that was the point. (Though if you were gearing to enter the rat race from the streets, watching this film would certainly put you in the right aspirational frame of mind.)
My cardiac muscles tightened as Will Smith’s eyes visibly reddened when he learned the decision of the people at Dean Witter. And his son Jaden was so luminous but unaffected (the best type of acting?). Thandie Newton was great too.
And oh, oh, oh! Trivia: the Frakesh character (small role, the one in charge of the interns) was played by the vegetarian Dan Castalleneta, the voice of Homer Simpson! Wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t read the credits.
Directed by Gabriele Muccino. The screenplay by Steven Conrad is based on the bestselling memoir of Chris Gardner.
For the record, I hated Will Smith’s 2005 movie Hitch.