Saturday, June 30, 2007

He's all growns up, our Wyll Smyth: "The Pursuit of Happyness"

I liked the tagline on posters for this movie: "You WILL cry, dammit!"

(Not saying I did, but hey, it got a little dusty in the den at times.)

I remember the trailer for this movie and thinking I could wait to see weepy will and his cute kid on the small screen. So it was that my wife and I spent Friday watching the trials -- many, many trials -- and tribulations of a determined guy and swell father in early 1980s San Francisco.

We meet Chris Gardner (Smith) as he's hustling around S.F. trying to sell something called a bone density scanner. Basically, he got duped into buying a bunch of these gizmos, and with sales not so good, the family -- him, his real-life kid (Jaden) and on-screen wife, Thandie Newton -- is struggling with cash. But then Chris hears about a chance to become an intern at Dean Witter, and maybe, just maybe he can make it as a full-time stockbroker.

Of course, we all know what happens in the end. It's the journey, however, that sets out not to just pull at your heartstrings but positively grab those suckers and rip them right out of your body. Oh, the drama that unfolds as Chris tries to keep his head above water and his family -- at least his son and him -- together. I won't go over all the details here, especially since the trailer showed big and little Smith camping out in a public toilet, complete with a tear rolling down Will's cheek. Come on, Prince ... get a hold of yourself!

Some parts of the movie work well. Smith is plenty earnest, and even gets to show some wit now and then. The rapport between him and his son is great, too. And the kid himself isn't bad. Why, he seemed like a real kid! (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Dakota Fanning.) Also, the story -- even with all its cheesiness -- is hard to resist, especially considering it's sort-of true. ("Inspired by a true story," after all.) I suppose you could not root for Chris and his son, but then you'd have to explain what it's like to go through life without a soul.

There are some weak spots, however. Smith's occasional narration -- pointing out "chapters" in his life -- is annoying. Thandie Newton is pretty one-note, despite her attempts to do something with a mostly thankless role. Even so, the fact that their son stays with Chris -- who is starting an unpaid internship -- instead of going with her to New York, where she has a job, is pretty hard to swallow. First, the mom always is the preferred parent when a couple splits. Second ... she's getting paid! He isn't! But hey, Chris didn't meet his dad until he was 28, so he's not going to let his son go. Oh, wait, he met you when he was born. And maybe you should think about focusing entirely on this job, become a stockbroker, then go get your son. Just a thought.

In the end, this is a nice story that's hard to watch in places -- partly because you feel for the characters, partly because you know you're being manipulated. I applaud the real Gardner for making this work, of course, but I'm not sure Smith and Co. did anything amazing with his story. I mean, we know he's going to win, so it's just a matter of waiting it out. And it's not like the kid minded sleeping in the bathroom, anyway.

1 Comments:

At 8:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry, just can't get past the title. It reeks of cheesyness.

 

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