Movie Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

Production Company:  Columbia Pictures
Director:  Gabriele Muccino
Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Pinkett Smith, Thandie Newton
Rating: PG-13 for some mild language

By Gregg Tubbs

(UMC.org)—We love to cheer for the underdog. Whether it's the scrawniest guy scoring the winning touchdown or the shy little girl winning the spelling bee, we love to see someone triumph over adversity to become a hero. Some, like firemen or soldiers, are natural heroes we can't help but cheer on. But what about the everyday heroes—average folks struggling to pay the rent and care for their children—who are all around us? In The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith plays just such a hero—a good man trying to make an honest living and keep his family together during hard times. Will he beat the odds and find happiness? The answers are worth pursuing.

The Pursuit of Happyness, set in 1981, is inspired by the real life story of underdog Chris Gardner, who rose from being homeless to become a stock market tycoon. Smith is an inspired choice to play this come-from-behind hero. His natural charm and energy are perfect for playing the part of a natural born salesman who relies on likeability and hustle to promote his products and himself. But this is also a departure for Smith. Gone is the buff body of Ali and the Men in Black swagger. Instead, he sports an 80's afro, tinged with grey, and the lines on his face and smaller physique reflect a man worn down by disappointment and the day-to-day grind of life. He makes a believable and endearing everyman.

As Gardner (Will Smith) goes from one unsuccessful sales call to another, Linda (Thandie Newton) must work double shifts at a seedy laundry. Their situation becomes increasingly desperate and tempers flair. Copyright © 2006 Columbia Pictures.

Gardner and his wife, Linda (Thandie Newton), have sunk their savings into a truckload of high-tech bone density scanners, which he plans to sell to the San Francisco healthcare community. Unfortunately, the scanners turn out to be an expensive luxury for most hospitals, and they become literal and symbolic millstones, gathering dust and dragging their finances downward. As Gardner lugs his scanners from one unsuccessful sales call to another, Linda works double shifts at a seedy laundry. Their situation becomes increasingly desperate and tempers flair. Their five-year-old son, Christopher (Smith's real-life son, Jaden), is caught in the middle.

As he drops Christopher off at his budget daycare, he's angered by all the graffiti outside the building. The scrawled, misspelled word "happyness" haunts him and fills him withestions. What is happiness? Will financial success bring it? Or is Christopher's well-being all he needs to find happiness? Is happiness something we can only chase, but never catch? Gardener is determined to build a better life for himself and his son, and a glimmer of hope arrives when he's accepted for a competitive—but nonpaying—internship at an investment firm. Months behind on the rent and facing eviction, relations between Gardner and his wife reach a breaking point. Linda bolts for New York, leaving father and son without car, money or real prospects.

Success at the internship will lead to a lucrative career, but along the way Gardner must labor nights and weekends, stubbornly trying to sell medical scanners, and somehow care for Christopher. Their struggle is heartbreaking at times, as he and his son's living situation deteriorates. They go from living in an apartment, to a motel, to a harrowing night spent sleeping in a subway station restroom, and finally to a homeless shelter. Only their love for each other and faith that they will see better times gets them through.

Gardner's (Will Smith) financial situation deteriorates until he and his son (Jaden Smith) finally end up in a homeless shelter. Copyright © 2006 Columbia Pictures

Gardner's final success is an inspiring testament to the human spirit and the determination to overcome, especially for the sake of someone you love. But we're left with troubling questions about those who aren't so fortunate. That misplaced "y" in "happyness" becomes a nagging question: "Why?" Why are there so many homeless in such a rich nation? Why is it so hard for an honest man like Gardner to overcome misfortune? And why is it so hard to heed Jesus' words: "Whatever you have done for the least of these…" The Pursuit of Happyness reminds me a lot of It's a Wonderful Life without the guardian angel. But just because there's no angel doesn't mean there's no help from above. Like in the drowning man story, perhaps God wants us to learn to reach out and help each other. Maybe that's what constitutes true happiness.

Gregg Tubbs is a freelance writer living in Columbia, Md.

This review was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church.

Study Questions

• Chris Gardner's life story has been featured on TV's "20-20." Have your seen or read about Chris Gardner's story? Certain changes were made in the film, such as the internship being totally nonpaying. Do these variations in facts affect the essential truths of the story?
• Gardner says that happiness might be something we can't ever "catch," which is why we are always chasing it. Do you agree? How do you define happiness?
• What role did Gardner's faith play in his and his son's survival? He had faith in himself, but in what scenes do you see evidence that he draws on faith in God as well?
• What do you think is the symbolism of the bone density scanners? What do they mean to Gardner? Do they represent both hope and hindrance?
• There are many verses in the Bible that speak to God's concern for the welfare of the poor and oppressed. Find and discuss some of these verses. Here are a few examples: Psalms 10:17-18, Psalms 37:14-15, Proverbs 31:8-9, Zechariah 7:8-14.
• Do you believe God wants us to share his concern for the poor? (See Matt. 24:31-46 and Matt. 19:21.) Do you believe Jesus came for people like Chris Gardner? (See Luke 4:18.)
• Do you think material possessions can lead to happiness? Is that what Gardner was after or was he motivated by something else?
• Have you ever known anyone who experienced homelessness? Did they receive help? From where? Who is responsible for helping the poor?
• What issues in today's society do you believe add to poverty and homelessness? Low wages? The costs of housing, medical care, food, or fuel? How are these moral issues for Christians?
• What is the lesson in the "drowning man" joke Christopher told his father? Discuss a time in your life when you may have failed to recognize the help that was offered because it did not come in the form you expected.

Official Movie Website

The Pursuit of Happyness

Theatrical Trailer