We may wonder if happiness can be bought this way, and whether the film being sold to us isn't a slightly suspect package, but Smith, sublime and moving, sells it regardless.
Comment
01/17/07
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
58
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:12
Fresh:7
Rotten:5
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Will Smith’s heartfelt performance elevates The Pursuit of Happyness above mere melodrama.
Theatrical Release:12-01-2007
Synopsis: In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a family man struggling to make ends meet. Despite his valiant attempts to help keep the family afloat, the mother (Thandie Newton) of his... [More]
Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Thandie Newton
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Reviews for The Pursuit of Happyness
1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticBonding convincingly (as you might expect) with his own son on screen, Smith delivers his most compelling performance since Ali.
01/14/07
Top CriticDeserves kudos for avoiding saccharine sentiment, but its relentless emphasis on money as the cure for all ills is depressing. They might as well have called it The Pursuit of Richyness.
01/14/07
Top CriticThe film unspools like a souped-up vanity project.
01/14/07
Top CriticAn old-fashioned Hollywood heartwarmer.
01/12/07
Top CriticSmith hits all the right notes – understated, engaging, inspirational – even if his young son threatens to charm him off the screen.
01/11/07
Top CriticAn admirably unsentimental biopic with an excellent central performance, but it doesn’t impact as strongly as it could.
01/04/07
Top CriticThere are worse ways to spend the holidays, and, at the least, it will likely make you appreciate your own circumstances.
12/15/06
Top CriticA fairy tale in realist drag, The Pursuit of Happyness is the kind of entertainment that goes down smoothly until it gets stuck in your craw.
12/14/06
Top CriticYou have to wonder why director Gabriele Muccino chose to dramatize the poor man's plight by having him run constantly through the streets of San Francisco. What ever became of quiet desperation?
12/11/06
Top Critic... 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.
12/07/06
Top Critic... 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.
12/07/06
Top Critic1 - 11 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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