The Pursuit of Happyness (2008)

Review written by Oliza Kachroo

The Pursuit of Happyness is a biopic on the life of Chris Gardner. Chris Gardner, is played by Will Smith, who is a struggling salesman and is in the search for happiness but his life is not easy. He has invested his entire life savings in portable bone density scanners but is unable to sell them as doctors consider it nothing more than an unnecessary luxury. He has a 5 year old son Christopher with his wife Linda, who works as a hotel maid. They barely make it through each day.

Chris wishes to become a broker since he notices that, they have everything he is looking for – genuine happiness with no shortage of money. But Linda isn’t supportive of his ambition. She leaves him due to his poor financial condition. Chris along with his son, has to shift to a motel since he is unable to pay the high rent of his house but that is not the end of his problems. Due to failure of paying his taxes, the IRS deducts $600 from his bank account leaving him with a small amount of about $22. With no cash they are evicted from the motel and they end up homeless. His son realises what is going on but tries to put up a strong front.

Chris is very smart. He was one of the very few in his times who could solve a Rubik’s Cube. By solving it in the short span of a taxi ride, he impresses Jay Twistle. This earns him an interview at Dean Witter for an unpaid internship that will select 20 people and out of those only one will be offered the job of a broker. Each intern is given a sheet with contacts. The one who gets the maximum money to the company and does well in a test, that they have to give at the end of the internship, will get the job. The rest of them can’t apply for another internship for at least 6 months. Will Chris be able to sell his machine to provide for his son, finish his sheet and study for the test at the same time? I would recommend you to watch the movie to find out.

A highly inspirational film that makes us wonder sometimes how small our problems are as compared to those people who have to struggle so hard even for the most basic necessities such as food and shelter. Despite his daily life struggles Chris never gives up. He always manages to stay positive and even takes great care of Christopher. He gives his son some valuable life lessons like “Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something...You got a dream. You gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you, you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it.” The film even has some light hearted humour especially in a few scenes showing the exchange between father and son.

Will Smith has done an excellent job of portraying the role of a loving father who is trying his level best but is helpless at times when the situation gets out of his hand and they have to go through things he never wished his little son would have to endure. He is hardworking and fights to survive each and every day. Will Smith even received an Oscar nomination for this phenomenal role. Overall the film was powerful and thought-provoking. An amazing experience you should definitely not miss out on.