The Pursuit of Happyness Full Screen Edition
November 20, 2009 by 11 Forgotten Laws
Filed under Emotion
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The Pursuit of Happyness Full Screen Edition
Will Smith stars in the inspirational true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman who’s struggling to make ends meet. When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise their 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris’ determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the street, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self- confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars More relevant for today’s recession when all is down and out
This movie depicts the actual situation now: we have high unemployment, broken families, and people that are in debt with no income. How did Will Smith overcome the odds and emerge as the winner?
The 1 thing I got from here is: Perseverence.
AndyTheCoach
www.asiacoachingtraining.com
Singapore
5 Stars Heartwarming, Inspirational, and Exciting
This movie is fantastic. A modern day exploration of the American Dream, the popular movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” shows a poor, divorced father struggling to improve his circumstances and create a better life for himself and his son. The movie features good acting, great San Francisco scenes (including some hilarious chase scenes), and is full of spirit and warmth. The father-son interactions are tender and understanding as they work through a hard time together. Will Smith is great in his role as a down-and-out man living an urban adventure all the while holding the highest business dreams in mind. The pace of the movie is fast and does not bog down the viewer with slow or tedious scenes. Each scene is a new adventure and another step on the father’s path to success. It is based on a true story and is a rags-to-riches tale of the highest caliber.
3 Stars Money = happiness?
My normal policy is to not write reviews for products that already have 10 or more reviews, and I know that this review will disappear into oblivion in a month or so, probably after netting several “unhelpful” votes. So why bother? Because this film, despite its almost universally positive reception, got my hackles up.
The Will Smith character, Chris Gardner, is portrayed as being a loving and caring father who is doing everything he’s doing for the sake of his 5-year-old son. Nonsense. Chris Gardner is doing what he is doing primarily for himself. Yes, he does take good care of his son, but the final result is positive only because things do work out for him in the end.
What if it had all gone horribly wrong? For every person who attempts to do what Chris Gardner did, and succeeds, there are 100 who attempt it and fail. What then? What would the consequences have been for Chris Gardner’s son?
My claim is that a really responsible father would have bitten the bullet and taken an ordinary job and settled down to being a single father and living a simple life, instead of gambling everything on “the American dream”. Doing what Chris Gardner did, while it did succeed for him, was, in fact, irresponsible.
Another irritating aspect of this movie is that to a large extent it pushes the idea that money and happiness go hand-in-hand. Those who are rich are all portrayed as being happy and decent people, which in my experience is far from the truth.
And then there’s the problem of whether Chris Gardner’s chosen profession is admirable or meaningful in the general context of human activities. My understanding of financial markets is almost zero, but I got the impression that Mr. Gardner was becoming successful by selling the kind of financial constructions that have since become part of the Wall Street meltdown and the trigger to a global financial crisis.
My conclusion is that “The Pursuit of Happyness” is a Hollywood “feel-good” movie that doesn’t stand up to a more critical examination.
Rennie Petersen
5 Stars Memorable and Life-shaping
Based on the true story of entrepreneur/millionaire Chris Gardner, the movie follows the struggles of a homeless single father trying to raise his son in 1980’s San Francisco, while pursuing the grand dream of becoming a stockbroker. The story evokes tears of sadness and tears of joy, as it takes the viewer through a real daily struggle not uncommon to so many in the world around us. A rags-to-riches story, yes, but even more a story of determination and hard work and a story of human potential.
Will Smith performs his best role ever as Chris Gardner, and his real life son Jaden plays the younger Christopher. Their chemistry is inspiring, as is the rest of the film.
This 2006 movie is rated PG-13 with good reason, however, and I don’t recommend it as a “family film,” as it has some brief language, and the subject matter is too intense for children. For teens, however, and adults, it is a must-see movie!
5 Stars TOUCHING TRUE STORY
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING TRUE STORY MOVIES I’VE SEEN. A MAN WHO NEVER GIVES UP IN ORDER TO TAKE CARE OF HIS SON. HOMELESS TO SUCCESSFUL
The Pursuit of Happyness UMD for PSP
November 10, 2009 by 11 Forgotten Laws
Filed under Success
The Pursuit of Happyness UMD for PSP
Will Smith stars in this moving tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith). When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher (Jaden Smith) on his own. Chris’ determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The Pursuit of Happyness for PSP
I love these PSP movies, I spend a lot of time stuck in places where I have nothing to do and these really make the time fly by.
5 Stars Great movie - more UMDs needed !!
This film is as good as everyone proclaimed, and great for teens with PSPs instead of the usual action gore and violence. Therein lies the problem, though — Amazon needs to stock more UMD films that everyone might like for their PSPs….
5 Stars great movie. great price.
This is a great movie for a great price. It’s kind of a tear jerker. Will Smith and his son have an outstanding performance.
