How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:165
Fresh:109
Rotten:56
Average Rating:6.4/10
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
It's more interested in the concrete details of Chris Gardner's life: finding a place to sleep, trying to stay upbeat, trying to keep his co-workers from finding out how close he is to living in a box. Which is why it's so powerful at the end.
[Smith's] brash, over-the-top persona practically dissolves.
How is it that movies 'inspired by a real story' often feel more fake than those fully embedded in the realm of fiction?
The Pursuit of Happyness -- as over-the-top as it seems conceptually -- actually deals out its heartstring cards subtly and never comes off as too cloying. It’s the sort of feel-good film that doesn’t make your teeth hurt.
Pursuit of Happyness is at its most resonant when the metaphorical stone Gardner strains to push up the mountain of his desires rolls back on him.
For a movie conceived and executed in the mainstream Hollywood idiom, it has uncommon depth and honesty. And the thing it’s honest about is the embarrassment and humiliation of being poor.
While he doesn't stint on the warm 'n' fuzzies, Italian director Gabriele Muccino doesn't mind showing us what sleeping in a homeless shelter or, worse yet, in the men's room at a BART station, looks like.
A hard-pressed African-American single parent and his five-year old son struggle to survive and fulfill the American dream in San Francisco in 1981.
What ultimately keeps Happyness on track is Will Smith's perfectly pitched performance.
In his first English-language feature, Muccino plays it disappointingly safe, leaving creativity by the wayside and adopting a conservative by-the-numbers style. The result is terribly maudlin and predictable.
...well made and extremely well acted...but also a bit of an endurance test.
...the rare tear-jerker that earns every drop.
An emotionally manipulative but astoundingly powerful rags-to-riches tale that recalls Frank Capra at his most heart-rending.
If patience isn't a virtue you possess, pass on The Pursuit of Happyness.
A message that should bring tears to the eyes of The Man everywhere.
Makes you work for its climax if not its message.
By reducing the story of homelessness to only Chris Gardner's, The Pursuit of Happyness is saying that anybody can get out of the gutter by simply really, really wanting to do better.
At its core The Pursuit of Happyness is a good story -- one that's literally rags to riches, and didn't need the many tweaks and embellishments that Italian director Gabriele Muccino and writer Steven Conrad have added.
The movie, the first English-language film directed by Italian Gabriele Muccino, is too emotionally slick to work, too visually glib to have an impact.
You 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?
Top Critic
January 16, 2009:
UK Critics Consensus: The Wrestler Pile-drives The Critics, But Don’t Waste any £s on Seven Pounds
With critical success for Slumdog Millionaire last week (94%), we have more award-friendly fare in the UK cinemas this Friday in Darren Aronofsky's spandex-tastic The Wrestler.... More...
March 04, 2008:
Rush Hour 3 Takes '07 DVD Rental Crown
It may not have been quite the box-office phenomenon that its predecessors were -- and critics may have disliked it enough to keep it down at 20 percent on the Tomatometer --... More...
January 16, 2008:
The Day the Earth Stood Still Adds Jaden Smith
His participation in a new Karate Kid is still only the stuff of rumors, but Jaden Smith has officially joined the cast of another remake. More...
January 10, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Captain Jack and Captain Morgan Set Sail
For the first time in three weeks, studios will pack a Friday with plenty of new releases as four films open or expand nationwide giving the box office chart a major shakeup.... More...
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN.com |
GameSpy |
Comrade |
Arena |
FilePlanet |
GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox |
Planets |
Vaults |
VE3D |
CheatsCodesGuides |
GameStats |
GamerMetrics
AskMen.com |
Rotten Tomatoes |
Direct2Drive |
Green Pixels
IGN RSS Feeds
Comment
