MaxFly

Most of the early reviews said that the movie was quite entertaining, thought provoking, and uplifting. A few even said that they hadn't thought much of Will's acting prior to this film but think he did a great job on Pursuit. Granted those were people who weren't professional critics, but had seen the movie and commented on it. The negative reviews are coming from professional critics, and while we can't dismiss their views summarily, you have to wonder about someone who says ""Pursuit of Happyness" embodies Smith's ideology in being sentimental (rather than emotional), positive (rather than realistic)." That seems like blatant bias, especially when you consider that it's a true story and that the person it was about was there all the way. Lol, and how does the guy know what Will Smith's ideology is? What's even more odd is that many of the criticisms are inconsistent. On reviewer said that the story should have focussed more on Gardner's achievement of pulling he and his son out of poverty into luxury instead of the father and son being close dynamic while another critic said that the poor to rich angle was formulaic. One believes that the focus of the movie was the father/son dynamic while another believes it was about Gardner's financial achievement. Another reviewer said that the movie operated in a narrow emotional range, but even from the previews, that seems somewhat false. It goes from dissatisfaction when he isn't doing well selling his medical equipment to dispair when his wife leaves, to hope when he finds out about the possibility of the internship, to jubilation when he gets the internship, to despair again when he finds out there's no pay to utter despair when he's crying sitting on the floor of a train station bathroom with his son in his arms... From one extreme to another. That's a pretty wide range of emotion. One review said that the story was compelling, another said that it was boring... One said that the polish of the movie makes homelessness look neat and tidy, while Gardner and his son had to sleep on the floor of a train station bathroom... a situation that certainly isn't neat nor tidy, especially when it involves your son. The only consistent criticism seems to be that the movie is too sentimental... too emotional. It's manipulative in that it plays to the emotions... It's funny because that's what Gardner's story is all about. Not sure how you would avoid that in the film without changing the focus of the story.

Yeah, it's an interesting dichotomy. All of the reviews prior to these were good. Just so happens that they were by people who had seen the movie but aren't professional critics. Seems interesting. Another thing that catches my attention is that many of the critics are saying that the movie's ending is predictable. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who finds that odd, but isn't that the nature of most biopics? Endings that are already known...

That seems overtly biased. How does the person reviewing the movie know that it's Will Smith's ideology and does he know this is based on a real story, and therefore, by definition, realistic? Being realistic and being positive aren't mutually exclusive. That's the nature of Chris Gardner's story and to tell it any other way would be to change the story.

The one that came out over the summer, right?

Looking at the Wolves' salary cap situation, there's a chance Minnesota won't be Iverson's destination. Iverson's making a little over 18 million, and KG is making 21 million. That's 39-40 million of their 65 million dollar salary cap. There would only be about 25 million left to build a team around those two. Minnesota would have to give up something like Ricky Davis, Mike James, Randy Foye and Troy Hudson to get Iverson. If this were Mark Cuban, it'd be all good, but the Wolves' owner has been notoriously stingy in the past. Rumors have it that Boston, Chicago and LA (Clippers) are the more likely destinations.

Yeah, heard about it this morining. Apparently he and Mo Cheeks have been having problems and Iverson has grown tired of the situation. Minnesota would be a great destination for him. If Mchale can build a good team around KG and him, they could very well be contenders.

Dag... he is tall.

Every one of these... ... counteracts 10-15 bad reviews... Not really worried.

Thanks Ashley... If Will and Jaden keep coming out with these magazine covers, people won't be able to help but see the movie. Lol, Will should come out with a just the Two of Us remix. It could fit perfectly with this father son theme.

This is also very true. I hope your right about this. To be honest critics are cynical (enter a random curse word here lol). The guy that gave it a 2 out of 10 seems to base his review on his own prejudices. He seems so biased that he basically critisizes it for the lack of entertainment, I mean the movie is based on a true story and anyone who reads the book or knows what the movie is about knows that entertainment is the last aspect to be featured in such a movie. That's the problem with critics, they want it all. They critisized WWW, the movie is a sci-fi pure entertainer and the purpose is only to entertain, yet they critisize it for being to surreal. Well duh. The biggest problem IMO, is they don't critisize on a separate genre, if the movie is about pure action, then your review should be only about that aspect, and not about the phylosophical aspects or the lack of a story etc. I thought BBII was one of the best action/comedy movies ever to be produced. Yet they critisized it for all the reasons except they forgot to base their reviews on aspects strictly like action and comedy. It had the best action and comedy scenes. Borat is a fine example of this, the only aspect of that movie is comedy, yet it has a 90 some % on RT and 8 out of 10 on imdb. Borat is a fine example that shows the stupidity and cynicsm of critics. Also, is it me, or do critics have some sort of prejudices towards will ? Seems like no matter how well he does he always gets critisized and the appreciation he gets from them is very little. For example with I am Legend, if you ask 10 critics what they think about will smith and I am legend, they'll automatically assume it will be another big willy movie.It might be, but you should always get a fair chance with a clean sheet. I couldn't have said it better Ty... I thought I was going to have an Interscope vs. Lost and Found moment... I was well prepared for it. I was about to go on a rant, but you said everything I would have said... Thanks...

I really don't want anything. Clothes could be nice.

I think the movie's going to do well. Independence Day got horrible reviews and MIB got bad reviews initially as well. Ali got great reviews, but no one went to see it. So many people have said it's a great movie that something seems off. People are either saying it's great or it's poor... No middle ground.

Yeah, sounds like it's going to be a horrible movie. :thumbdown:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal...amp;view=public Seems to be getting a number of less than stellar reviews. This guy gave it a 2/10. Lol.

http://variagate.com/happiness.htm?RT This is the saddest Will Smith movie I've ever seen. In a turn as a modern Everyman going through the 7 rings of fire in the form of economic disaster and the consequences that flow from not being able to pay bills, the role challenges your ability to hang in with him until he can turn things around. The word, "obstacles" doesn't capture it. It's based on a 20/20 segment about a successful San Francisco stock broker who experienced poverty, debt, dashed hopes, a broken marriage and a flood of disappointment before he found the work he was destined for. And, this guy was an "A" student with a very strong aptitude for math. Director Gabriele Muccino directed from a script by Steven Conrad When Chris Gardner (Smith) and Linda (Thandie Newton) got married, times were promising. They moved into a good apartment and invested in a stock of new medical machines -- scanners of bone density -- that they felt sure they could sell to hospitals and doctors interested in advanced technology. This would give them a handsome profit allowing Chris to capitalize on his gifts as a salesman. Five years later they've still got around half their pile of scanners, a 5-year old son Christopher (Jaden Smith), and Linda is doing double shifts in low-paying jobs to make the rent and put some food on the table. Not that Chris has been slacking off. In his handsome suits and business-like appearnace, he's a fixture on the streets and corridors, scanner in hand, plying the wards and medical offices of the city. In fact, he doesn't stop trying, but the cost versus the benefit equation of his machines make them a luxury buy for medical offices, and a tough sell. As the difficulties of moving them continues, stress is taking its toll in the marriage. But, one thing that Chris is if he's anything is a father completely devoted to his son, taking not only an interest but full participation in his lovely little boy's life. When Linda finally caves, and leaves for a job in New York, Chris' insistence wins him custody of his boy, even as economic bad times go to worse. And, then, one day, firmly in the disaster column, he discovers stock brokering. Using all his wiles and charms (and his ability to do the almost impossible task of solving a Rubik's Cube), he impresses Jay Twistle (Brian Howe), a manager at Dean Witter, he succeeds in being accepted in a competitive training program against tremendous odds. But, he has to face the fact that it's all unpaid until and unless he's hired by the firm, and this while being evicted twice for lack of rent, finding shelter for himself and his boy in a homeless shelter and in a train rest room when he can. And, it gets worse. If anyone can pull this off without having you claw your way to the lobby in relief, it's Smith... because this turns into not just a study in bad times, poor decisions and a desperation none of us should ever have to endure, but a story of a father's love, a relationship of father and son that does endure through all of it and gives the picture its meaning. Little Jaden Smith comes at it with personality blazing. A joy to watch and a role very happily fulfilled. Newton has about the worst of the deal, having to be the bad guy who loses all trace of patience with an overstrained situation and earning damn little sympathy for her badgering of our hero. Brian Howe and James Karen are entirely appropriate choices for the bottom-line kind of executives who have little warm and smiley feelings for their applicants unless one manages to stand out. The quest for the commission dollar as a dehumanizing influence isn't dealt with except by peripheral reference and as the brass ring of success. You get the impression, however, after the gauntlet of defeats that would diminish a lesser man, Chris Gardner as portrayed by Will Smith won't be dehumanized. As for the real Chris Gardner, some of that indomitable humanity certainly seems like it must be part of the package.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/movie/...32_1_0_,00.html Will Smith doesn't seem the likeliest candidate to play a desperate, struggling man. Whatever the role (love coach, alien fighter, Ali), he projects speed and good times, an almost aerobic self-confidence. But in The Pursuit of Happyness, which is set in San Francisco in 1981, at the dawn of the age of go-go capitalism, Smith doesn't just wear a few flecks of gray in his hair. He slows himself down, playing a man who awakens to the reality that life is nickel-and-diming him to death. It's a beautiful and understated performance, one that hums with a richer, quieter music than Smith has mustered before. What hooks you in this shrewdly touching movie, based on a true story, is how specific it is about one man's economic perils. Smith's Chris Gardner is an earnest fellow in his late 30s who sells medical equipment — or, rather, one particular item, a high-density bone scanner that he hawks, with middling success, on a freelance basis. His mistake was to invest his savings in these contraptions, and now he's stuck, toting them around town like oversize typewriters. His marriage has fallen apart, and when the prickly, impatient Linda (Thandie Newton) takes off, leaving Chris and his young son (played by Smith's son Jaden with a sly-eyed lack of fuss that matches nicely with his father's), he applies for the internship program at Dean Witter, where he'll compete to be a stockbroker. Smith makes Chris a go-getter with a hint of sadness — a bit of a fuddy-duddy, but a smart, dogged one. (He gets his foot in the door by solving a Rubik's Cube.) In The Pursuit of Happyness, we don't just know Chris' dreams. We know his bank account, his tally of parking tickets, his back taxes. The fact that he's African-American is there at the margins — he would surely have gone to college had he come from a less hardscrabble background — but the real issue is the subtler one of class mobility in America. Since the internship is unsalaried, Chris is forced to survive by other measures, and what this means is that the job is really geared to people who've already attained middle-class solidity. Chris has to pretend to be something he's not, and the power of Smith's acting is in the gentle, mounting fury with which he absorbs a hundred misperceptions and slights. As compelling as the film is, it does have a rather single-minded, one-ordeal-after-another, Murphy's Law quality. Yet the director, Italy's Gabriele Muccino, lends a humane touch even to the running joke of Chris getting his bone scanners stolen, and the plot is an inexorable chain of money logic: Chris' escape from a cabbie he can't afford to pay, his looming tax crisis, his move to a hotel and, finally, a homeless shelter. The lower he falls, the more Smith endows him with a ragged nobility and will. The Pursuit of Happyness speaks eloquently to the anxieties of our own time, when staying afloat, let alone movin' on up, has rarely been tougher.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117932267...yid=31&cs=1 A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures presentation in association with Relativity Media of an Overbrook Entertainment/Escape Artists production. Produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, James Lassiter, Will Smith. Executive producers, Mark Clayman, Louis D'Esposito, David Alper, Teddy Zee. Directed by Gabriele Muccino. Screenplay, Steven Conrad. Chris Gardner - Will Smith Linda - Thandie Newton Christopher - Jaden Christopher Syre Smith Jay Twistle - Brian Howe Martin Frohm - James Karen Alan Frakesh - Dan Castellaneta Walter Ribbon - Kurt Fuller The fact-inspired drama "The Pursuit of Happyness" is more inspirational than creatively inspired -- imbued with the kind of uplifting, afterschool-special qualities that can trigger a major toothache. Clearly savoring the chance to work alongside his moppet son, Will Smith is in serious mode as Chris Gardner, whose story is one of perseverance overcoming tremendous hardship. Smith's heartfelt performance is easy to admire. But the movie's painfully earnest tone should skew its appeal to the portion of the audience that, admittedly, has catapulted many cloying TV movies into hits, and an endorsement from Oprah Winfrey on her popular talkshow can't hurt. Strictly in political terms, the film could hardly be more finely tuned -- offering a sympathetic view of those struggling to stay out of poverty as well as a "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" message. And in that calculation resides its basic flaw -- a nagging sense throughout that we're being emotionally played. Deriving its title from a misspelling at the San Francisco daycare center where Gardner parks his son, the narrative unfolds in 1981 as the protagonist's voiceover narration identifies various chapters in his life. At its core, there's a grand sense of the American dream in Gardner's rags-to-riches experience -- a guy who found himself homeless and sleeping in subway stations, only to become a multimillionaire. "The Pursuit of Happyness" devotes its two hours entirely to that struggle, wrenching as it often is. Gardner states at the outset that he didn't know his own father and was determined not to let that happen with his own children. Unfortunately, he squanders his savings investing in a medical gizmo, driving a wedge between him and his wife (Thandie Newton), who eventually takes flight. At that point, the film becomes a bit of "Kramer vs. Kramer" meets madefor "Homeless to Harvard," as single dad Chris endeavors to keep himself and his 5-year-old son, Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith), afloat financially while pursuing a tantalizing but maddening opportunity: an unpaid internship at brokerage firm Dean Witter Reynolds that offers no promise of employment at the six-month trial's conclusion. Along the way, Chris rides an economic roller-coaster, at various points having to sleep in a shelter or, worse, a BART station restroom -- cleverly turning the latter ordeal into a game to help his not-fully-understanding boy endure the night. Still, because anyone who has done the slightest research knows this tale is ultimately one of capitalistic triumph (there wouldn't be a movie otherwise), the building toward that inevitable climax proves a sometimes arduous slog. The younger Smith is allowed to deliver a natural, childlike performance, though occasionally Gabriele Muccino, the Italian helmer of "The Last Kiss" making his English-language debut, and writer Steven Conrad unhelpfully saddle the tot with big, chewy mouthfuls of dialogue. For the most part, though, the movie is the elder Smith's showcase, and he throws his all into the role. Yet while there are occasional flashes of personality -- such as the moment when Gardner wows a potential employer (Brian Howe) by mastering a Rubik's cube -- the circumstances restrain him, as the movie operates in a rather narrow emotional range before its eventual payoff. (Gardner, credited as an associate producer, came to the producers' attention via a "20/20" profile, and only a brief footnote addresses his subsequent accomplishments.) Technically, pic does a nice job of re-creating the Bay Area a quarter-century ago through music and wardrobe, and Andrea Guerra's score establishes a properly melancholy tone. In the final accounting, however, "The Pursuit of Happyness" winds up being a little like the determined salesman Mr. Gardner himself: easy to root for, certainly, but not that much fun to spend time with.

http://www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk/06/purshapp.htm A true story told in a deeply heartwarming style: there's never any doubt where this film is going. But while it's genuinely inspirational, the script trivialises it by focussing on all the wrong things. In 1970s San Francisco, Chris Gardener (Will Smith) is struggling to make ends meet, selling medical equipment door-to-door. His fed-up wife (Newton) finally decides to leave, but Chris won't let her take their 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden, son of Will). When Chris gets an internship as a stockbroker, it means six extremely competitive months without a salary. He's got a plan, but everything that could go wrong does. And then some. Eventually father and son are homeless and desperate, counting on the slim chance of a permanent job at the end. This is a seriously amazing story of tenacity against the odds, of being willing to give everything to achieve a dream. Watching Gardener's journey is often jaw-dropping, simply because of the obstacles that block every step. But this is also the film's main failing, because it centres on problems rather than Gardener himself. The plot is a litany of bad breaks, from getting arrested for unpaid parking tickets to having his merchandise stolen by homeless people, from being treated as a gofer by his boss (Castellaneta) to constantly showing up under-dressed for one reason or another. It's just too much. Sure, Chris strikes it lucky here and there, but it's his raw achievement against the odds that's the most astonishing thing here--and the one thing we never really see. Instead this is a movie about a father and son who stick together amid overwhelming adversity, protecting each other with good humour and warm affection. That's not a bad story, but it's only part of this one. Real-life father and son Will and Jaden are natural and believable, likeable and fresh. So it's a pity the filmmakers feel the need to lay on the sentiment so thickly, amping up the cuteness factor and focusing on the triumph over adversity, rather than their real accomplishment. It's a terrific tale, and the film is watchable. But it should have been much better than this.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/r...p?&rid=8509 "The Pursuit of Happyness" certainly is a decent, well-intended film about a father's responsibility to his son and his struggles with homelessness. It features a sensitive performance by Will Smith as a character, based on a real man, who overcame staggering obstacles to claim his stake of the American dream. Were this an indie film with a gritty edge and a fresh take on being down-and-out in the richest country in the world, "Pursuit" would stand a good chance of winning an award at next month's Sundance Film Festival. Instead, this is a slick studio production with a huge movie star and top professionals occupying every production role so that the polish of this well-made film makes even homelessness look neat and tidy. Then inserting nonsensical chases and suspense sequences into the story betrays its Hollywood heritage. Smith's performance will win accolades from critics, and Sony certainly can sell this as a feel-good holiday film. So "Pursuit" may well claim boxoffice happiness. A lot depends on Smith's marquee clout. The story takes place in early 1980s San Francisco, when the trickle-down economic theory was all the rage. Smith's Chris Gardner is running hard just to keep in place. An investment in a bone-scanning machine, which he then discovers the medical profession isn't terribly interested in buying from him, has left his family nearly broke. The Gardners are two months behind on rent, the car has been towed for unpaid parking tickets, and the IRS wants back taxes. His bitter, frustrated wife Linda (Thandie Newton in a thankless role) must work double shifts to pay bills. In a sequence that begs for more explanation, Linda quits the family and moves to New York in search of a job, leaving her 5-year-old son with his penniless dad. It's safe to say Linda is not bucking for Mother of the Year. Through guile and determination, Chris lands an internship with a stock brokerage firm. But he will receive no pay until he lands a broker's job for which he must compete with 20-odd fellow interns. Within a week, he and his son Christopher (Smith's real-life son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) get evicted. They move to a motel as Smith continues to sell his stockpile of bone scanners. But the IRS attaches his bank account, so the two find themselves on the street, sleeping in shelters, subway cars and, for one night, a public toilet. Screenwriter Steven Conrad and director Gabriele Muccino do a fine job of moving between two worlds that scarcely recognize each other -- the street where risk, loss and gain are matters of survival and Wall Street where those same possibilities drive the Darwinian competition. At times the film wants to manufacture melodrama, such as chases after people who steal Chris' bone scanner or his parking a partner's car when he has only minutes to land a major account. They feel like intrusions in the real story. Muccino is an Italian director ("The Last Kiss") making his English-language debut, but you look in vain for evidence of a fresh eye on American society. The period details in J. Michael Riva's production design are solid, but any number of fair-to-middling Hollywood directors could have made this film. Phedon Papamichael's cinematography is refreshingly straightforward, but Andrea Guerra's music edges into sentimentality.

This was a great article. Thanks... Oscar

This movie is going to do very well. Very very well.

http://news.com.com/2009-12-6141617.html?tag=cnetfd.ld1 I used to watch his reviews of products on CNet all the time. When I first heard the story, I recognized the name, but I couldn't place it... then I saw the picture and they mentioned he was an editor for CNet... I couldn't believe it. My heard goes out to his family, and especially his wife. They have three young children. It must be very hard for her right now.

You have to register if you want to criticize someone.

Not really, but I suspect that if you're really concerned about how good his acting is, you'll be one of the first in line to see Pursuit because from all the reviews, his acting was excellent.

Great!!!