movie review on the pursuit of happyness

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The pursuit of happyness, common sense media reviewers.

Inspirational but often emotionally wrenching story.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Strong messages about the importance of persistenc

Noble father dotes on son and is dedicated to taki

Parents' loud argument worries their son; Chris is

Mother appears briefly in her bra and panties whil

"F--k" written as graffiti on wall, noted and spok

Most products are used to mark the year (1981): A

Mom smokes cigarettes several times.

Positive Messages

Strong messages about the importance of persistence, hard work, believing in yourself, and being there for each other. The heart of the movie is the strong father-son bond between the two main characters.

Positive Role Models

Noble father dotes on son and is dedicated to taking care of him through thick and thin. He takes his son along on job-related excursions and lies in front of him (the kid looks appropriately skeptical when he hears it). Chris also briefly discourages and yells at his son, after which he is immediately apologetic. Perpetually irritated mom abandons her son early in the movie.

Violence & Scariness

Parents' loud argument worries their son; Chris is hit by a car, leaving his face bruised and clothes bedraggled; father yells at son for crying, frightening him into obedience; Chris starts to fight a man in line at a shelter, frightening his son, who cries.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Mother appears briefly in her bra and panties while changing into her work uniform.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"F--k" written as graffiti on wall, noted and spoken by father and son; several uses of "damn," "hell," "s--t," "ass," and "a--hole." "You suck" written on wall.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Most products are used to mark the year (1981): A Rubik's cube figures prominently in the plot; Members Only jacket; Raging Bull movie poster; Magic Johnson poster, Captain America action figure. Chris goes to work for the Dean Witter brokerage.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Will Smith will draw kids to this movie. But it's not an action flick or slapstick comedy -- it's an inspirational and often emotionally wrenching story. It includes some very sad scenes between family members, as well as a couple of emotionally scary ones. The mother becomes so frustrated with her husband's inability to make a living that she leaves him and their son. Later, the father yells at his son for a trivial reason and gets in a fight, scaring the boy and making him cry. If your child is in a clingy period with you, this might upset him or her. There's a very brief allusion to the mixed effects of classism and racism on the son. The father's frustration sometimes leads to tears and sometimes to angry language (mostly damn and "s--t"). A graffitied "f--k" leads to a brief discussion of the word, and the son says it out loud. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

Parents say (16)
Kids say (50)

Based on 16 parent reviews

that kid'll getcha

Real life issues - refreshing break from anthromorphism and fantasy, what's the story.

Based on a true story and set in 1981 San Francisco, Pursuit begins as Chris Gardner ( Will Smith ) and his wife, Linda ( Thandiwe Newton ), are having troubles. She works double shifts doing hotel laundry; he's trying to sell bone density scanners (i.e., specialty medical machines that, as Chris admits in voiceover, are too expensive for most doctors to buy). When Linda abandons the family, Chris remains determined. He spends six months working in an unpaid internship at Dean Witter, dead set on becoming a stock broker. He's smart enough and good with numbers, he figures, having proved that much by solving a Rubik's cube in front of a Dean Witter broker. As he studies and scrapes by, barely earning enough each week to pay for meals, Chris is sure he's going to make it.

Is It Any Good?

Jaden Smith is adorable; he delivers an endearing performance as Gardner's son, Christopher, in what turns out to be a simple, sentimental, but ultimately inspiring movie. The film deals with the American Dream from a particular perspective, focusing, as the title implies, on the constitutional right to "pursue" happiness, rather than the right to be happy. In this manner, the movie is able to avoid focusing much on institutional racism and how that factors into achieving the Dream. Instead, the relationship between father and son, through all the ups and downs of family strife and economic instability, take center stage, with lovely results.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the appeal of stories like Chris'. Why do people like rags-to-riches tales? Why are they considered good material for movies? How close do you think the movie version is to the true story?

Families can also talk about the risks that Chris takes to provide a "better life" for his son. How does the movie show that little Christopher is both scared of having no place to sleep, but also utterly trusting of his dad? Is it OK that Chris tells a white lie in front of his son to get a job?

How does the film portray the decision by Christopher's mother to leave him? From whose point of view do you see this choice?

Movie Details

In theaters : December 14, 2006
On DVD or streaming : March 27, 2007
Cast : Jaden Smith , Thandiwe Newton , Will Smith
Director : Gabriele Muccino
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
Studio : Columbia Tristar
Genre : Drama
Run time : 117 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : some language.
Award : Common Sense Media Award
Last updated : January 21, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Pursuit of Happyness Reviews

It is Will Smith's lead performance in this that really stole the show and won me over. It really elevated this movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Sep 4, 2021

The Pursuit of Happyness reveals the soul-wasting nature of poverty and the lack of prospects for those condemned to economic oblivion.

Full Review | Sep 2, 2020

Will Smith can carry a film. And carry it he does, because without him, Happyness would founder in its own schmaltz.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 6, 2019

Director Gabriele Muccino has so overloaded the story with glib anecdotes that it's often depressing and, worse, monotonous. Everything that is admirable, and there is much, is down to Smith's verve.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 3, 2018

Save some of those Kleenex for The Pursuit of Happyness.

Full Review | Jan 5, 2018

The Pursuit of Happyness is a very Hollywood film, which could be good or bad depending on your point of view. It tries very hard to be profound and inspirational, but ultimately it's not up to the task.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Apr 25, 2011

Counterfeit emotion and submerged racism

Full Review | Aug 28, 2009

Sap, sentiment, and hokey plot devices bog down an otherwise down to earth story.

Full Review | Apr 29, 2009

Smith turns in a career-capping performance, and director Gabriele Muccino ingeniously turns the material inward, cautioning us all to be grateful for what we have, for we're closer to the edge than we think.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 23, 2009

Will Smith is getting all the awards buzz, but it's his real-life son, Jaden, who transcends all expectations in Happyness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Nov 20, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: C | Oct 18, 2008

Even the glossiest of surfaces can't extinguish the genuine emotions running beneath them here.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Apr 6, 2008

Few films so convincingly portray the titanic struggle that some people face day in and day out just to survive.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 28, 2008

This is Will Smith's movie from start to finish and he carries it wonderfully.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 14, 2007

[A] calculatedly emotional, sterilizingly cleancut drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 23, 2007

Hokey title, but sometimes movie is good.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | May 10, 2007

In an effort to make a crowd-pleasing film, the horrors that Gardner must have experienced on the streets feel glossed over by the Hollywood machine.

Full Review | Mar 24, 2007

The American Dream as white, rich and all male.

Full Review | Mar 21, 2007

Will Smith gives the performance of his career in a movie for which phrases like "heart-warming" and "life-affirming" were made.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 19, 2007

Sem jamais tratar o papel como uma simples oportunidade de mostrar seu alcance dramático, Will Smith comove justamente por demonstrar o esforço de seu personagem para se conter em momentos de grande emoção.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 3, 2007

The Pursuit Of Happyness Review

12 Jan 2007

117 minutes

Pursuit Of Happyness, The

Everybody reacts to disappointment in different ways. Some go out and get shit-faced. Others buy a pram, fill it with toys and start throwing. Will Smith, however, makes a series of empty, visually appealing action movies.

We should explain: the disappointment in this case is losing out on Oscar back in 2002. He’d been hotly tipped to scoop the little gold geezer for his turn in Ali, but then along came Denzel Washington’s Training Day and that was that. This glaring oversight on the Academy’s part seemed to crush his spirit — hence the autopilot likes of Bad Boys II; I, Robot; Hitch and Shark Tale. All charming in their own way, but as tests of his capabilities as an actor, a Fresh Prince movie might have been more of a stretch.

Now, though, he’s back on the ‘serious-actor’ horse in The Pursuit Of Happyness, a film that does allow him to grow. In fact, Smith’s Pursuit Of Oscar is a muted affair. There are no grandstanding moments of high emotion, no obvious award-show clips. Smith’s Chris Gardner gets angry, yes. He cries, yes. But the emphasis here is on restraint and interesting choices — in the movie’s climactic moments, when most other actors would holler and bawl for all they’re worth, Smith opts for an understated and virtually wordless reaction, tears tickling his eyes. It works beautifully.

Although the movie Gardner is a man almost entirely without flaws (Thandie Newton, in contrast, labours with a thin ‘bitch-wife’ role), it’s a dream of a part and a heck of a tale — and, albeit with the usual Hollywood liberties, it’s all true. Gardner and his son did sleep in a locked railway station toilet. They did line up at homeless shelters with down-and-outs, scrabbling for a bed for the night — and all while Gardner was working at his internship, with no income and little chance of a job at the end of it.

And all, it seems, because of a line in the Declaration Of Independence that grants every American the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness (don’t worry, pedants, the misspelling of the title is explained early on). Today, Gardner is a multi-millionaire with a best-selling book, but, as the title indicates, this is about the pursuit, and there’s real drama as Gardner pushes himself to breaking point, trying never to let his son (played with no little charm by Smith’s own kid, Jaden) realise the dire extent of their situation.

It’s clear from the off that we’re in rags-to-riches, wish fulfilment territory here, but this doesn’t quite stir like a Capra, or even a modern-day equivalent like Jerry Maguire or Shawshank. That’s partly because director Gabriele Muccino — the Italian helmer of L’Ultimo Bacio (the original version of The Last Kiss) — lends the film a muted autumnal palette which, sadly, dampens emotional engagement, while too much emphasis is placed on an unnecessary voiceover.

Yet, despite its flaws, the movie still warms the heart thanks to Smith, whose natural, irrepressible likeability carries the movie through its more formulaic moments. And if he should wind up on the podium at the Kodak Theatre next year, well… how’s that for an American Dream?

Movies | 09 01 2007

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DVD & Streaming

The Pursuit of Happyness

Content caution.

In Theaters

Will Smith as Chris Gardner; Jaden Christopher Syre Smith as Christopher; Thandie Newton as Linda; Brian Howe as Jay Twistle; Dan Castellaneta as Alan Frakesh; Kurt Fuller as Walter Ribbon

Home Release Date

Gabriele Muccino

Distributor

Sony Pictures

Movie Review

“I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. When I had children, my children were going to know who their father was.” So vows Chris Gardner, an earnest salesman and father desperately struggling to make ends meet on the hard streets of San Francisco in the early 1980s. But his chosen vocation, peddling expensive bone-density scanners that most physicians don’t want, has left him and those he loves hovering on the brink of disaster.

Day after unsuccessful day, Chris comes home to his dispirited girlfriend, Linda, and their 5-year-old son, Christopher. Linda pulls double shifts to stay within striking distance of solvency, all the while chastising Chris for his failure to provide. Predictably, she doesn’t think much of his latest brainstorm: securing an internship at the stock brokerage firm Dean Witter. Linda’s bitterness and negativity may wear on Chris, but they can’t dampen the weary salesman’s delight in his son. Christopher is the apple of Daddy’s eye.

Then Linda leaves Chris (and their son) for a job in New York. She’s barely out the door when Chris learns he’s been offered the coveted internship. The catch? It’s unpaid. Despite the financial risk, Chris decides to go for it, frantically juggling his schedule to get Christopher to and from day care each day. But dwindling savings quickly result in an eviction from their apartment. And then another from a motel. Soon, father and son are homeless, staying in city shelters on good nights and in public restrooms on the worst.

As his desperation mounts, Chris clings tenaciously to the hope that his hard work will eventually pay off. And his dogged pursuit of a better life forges a powerful father-son bond that no misfortune can destroy.

Positive Elements

“You’re a good papa.” Those tenderhearted words from Christopher to his father as they spend the night in a homeless shelter poignantly capture the essence of The Pursuit of Happyness . Chris isn’t perfect, but one emotional scene after another clearly demonstrate his drive to protect and provide for his son.

Physical affection (hugs and kisses) and heartfelt moments mark their relationship. Chris repeatedly asks Christopher to trust him, and Dad proves that he’s worthy of that trust. When Linda threatens to leave, Chris demands that their son stay with him. He knows he’ll be a better parent than she would be—a reality to which Linda grudgingly acquiesces. Later, Christopher asks his dad, “Did mom leave because of me?” Chris responds, “Mom left because of mom. And you didn’t have anything to do with that.”

Actively concerned about his son’s education and mental development, Chris gets upset when he learns that Christopher’s day care provider, Mrs. Chew, lets the kids watch Bonanza and Love Boat . Chris teaches his son word meanings, such as the difference between probably and possibly , and the fact that happiness is misspelled on his day care’s sign. (It’s mistakenly spelled with a “y”; the film’s title intentionally follows suit.)

Chris encourages his boy to make a birthday wish-list, then gets him a basketball as a present. And one of the film’s most powerful scenes comes when Christopher is trying to shoot hoops with his new ball. After a strong-but-errant shot, Dad critically informs him, “You’ll excel at a lot of things, but not [basketball],” perhaps projecting his own experience onto his son. Christopher immediately lives down to Dad’s low expectations and takes a weak shot. Noticing his son’s downcast countenance, Chris realizes his error and rectifies the situation, saying, “Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. All right? You got a dream? You gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period.”

A harrowing night of homelessness finds the pair killing time at a deserted Bay Area Rapid Transit stop. Father and son imagine that Dad’s bone-density machine is actually a time-travel device that takes them back to the time of the dinosaurs. Christopher gleefully joins in the make-believe game as they flee from a T-Rex into a “cave”—a public restroom where they spend the night. Dad holds the door shut with his foot, and tears stream down his face as he watches his innocent son sleep on his lap.

In addition to such a strong father-son relationship, The Pursuit of Happyness also presents the American Dream as an achievable reality. It begins when Chris asks a Dean Witter broker (who he sees getting out of a bright-red Ferrari) what’s needed to do the job. The answer he gets back is this: “You’ve got to be good with numbers and good with people.” Chris believes he has those skills and aggressively pursues executives at Dean Witter once he discovers internships are available.

He hounds his first contact, Jay Twistle, until the man pays attention to him. Several other people at Dean Witter give Chris chances to prove himself, though they aren’t really duty-bound to do so. And even though he’s virtually broke, Chris gives $5 to one of his rich superiors so he can pay for cab fare. Later, Chris misses an appointment with an executive (for reasons beyond his control), and goes to the man’s house to apologize. The exec, Walter Ribbon, in turn, kindly invites Chris and Christopher to share his skybox at a 49ers game.

A “live” TV clip of President Ronald Reagan includes the exhortation, “We’ve got to face the truth, and we’ve got to work to turn things around.” Chris does that, and much, much more.

Spiritual Elements

Chris and his son stay at a shelter that offers a gospel-oriented church service. A choir sings, “You promised you’d meet me at the altar of prayer/… Lord, please move that mountain.” Other lyrics insist, “I won’t give up,” and include the line, “Hello, Jesus.”

Christopher tells his dad a joke about a drowning man who kept praying for God to save him. The man refuses the help of two boats that come by, insisting that God will answer his prayer. After he dies and asks God why He didn’t save him, God tells him, “I sent you two big boats, you dummy.”

Sexual Content

We see Linda in a bra and slip as she gets dressed for work. She’s also seen in a camisole. Two scenes show Chris and Linda (who are unmarried but living together) in bed (without any sexual activity). A brief shower shot shows Chris’ shoulders.

Violent Content

Sprinting across a busy San Francisco street, Chris gets hit by a car. He breaks the windshield then is thrown roughly to the concrete (yet avoids major injury). Linda hits Chris several times in anger; he in turn grabs her arm firmly. Twice, Chris shakes his son in moments of extreme frustration, but manages to exercise enough restraint not to hurt Christopher. Chris gets into a scuffle with another homeless guy who cut in front of him at the shelter. (Their conflict is broken up before it can turn into a full-on fight.)

Crude or Profane Language

A spray-painted f-word mars the slogan of Christopher’s day care (“Joy. Fun. Happyness”). As Chris explains the misspelling of happiness , Christopher asks, “Is f— spelled right?” Chris tells his son that’s not a word he’s supposed to learn, and that it’s not part of the school’s motto. Other profanity includes two-and-a-half s-words and a handful each of the words “h—,” “d–n,” “a–” and “b–ch.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Linda smokes cigarettes.

Other Negative Elements

Chris is not by nature a deceptive person. But several times he lies in front of his son (who recognizes the deception) to keep others from realizing how desperate his situation really is. And when he’s unfairly left to pay a cab fare he doesn’t have the money for, he flees. (The infuriated cabby chases him, swearing and yelling threats.)

Chris’ lack of funds means he’s perpetually evading angry landlords who want back-rent from him. He always tells them he’ll get the money, but is never able to make good on that promise. Someone paints “Dear Chris, U suck” on the wall of his apartment. An internship administrator treats him like an on-call servant, asking him to do all kinds of favors (such as getting doughnuts, moving his car, etc.). After the IRS garnishes $600 in back taxes from his bank account, Chris loses his cool and angrily demands that a friend pay back $14 that he owes him (as his son looks on).

Christopher dances around in his underwear in two scenes.

Inspirational isn’t a word I would normally choose to describe a great movie, as it conjures up connotations of something sappy or overly sentimental. Nevertheless, I think that’s the word that best captures Will Smith’s powerful portrayal of real-life father and pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps worker Chris Gardner.

As a new father myself, I’m hard put to think of any movie I’ve ever seen that inspires me more to be a good dad than this one does. Days after seeing it, memories of certain scenes continue to challenge me in my own occasional moments of laziness or self-absorption. Suffice it to say that self-pity and lack of initiative are two character traits Mr. Gardner simply does not exhibit, no matter how bleak things get for him and his son. Instead, he elevates Christopher’s needs above his own over and over again. He can’t always change their awful circumstances, but Chris does everything within his power to meet his son’s physical and emotional needs, and to protect him. Nothing can deter this loving papa from lavishing affection and tenderness upon his son.

Director Gabriele Muccino says of this precious father-son relationship, “The movie plays like a love story. But in this case we don’t have a woman and a man meeting each other. Instead, we have a father and son walking together through life. Their relationship is very strong, very powerful. … Chris endures the unimaginable and still makes sure that not even the worst moments will have a bad effect on his son’s life.” The chemistry between the pair onscreen is no doubt enhanced by the fact that Will Smith’s son, Jaden, portrays Christopher.

Only a few negative elements (noted above) and the film’s occasional use of realistic, street-level vulgarities let it down. I’ve certainly seen PG-13 films with more language problems, but there’s still enough here (20-plus) to give discerning moviegoers pause. What won’t trip them up—and might even breathe new life into their own relationships—is Chris Gardner’s powerful, passionate pursuit of the best life possible for his little boy.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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Black History In Film: ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ Review – “It All Feels Real”

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Throughout the month of February, Full Circle Cinema celebrates Black History Month by revisiting films made for and told by prominent Black men and women. We will reflect on an extraordinary history filled with moments both triumphant and tragic in the still ongoing fight for equality and justice for all. Through the sharing of stories, we pay tribute to the storytellers. Check out our first and second installments of Black History In Film here and here .

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something… not even me. Alright?”

From Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves to Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition , movies have a long history of depicting the complicated dynamic of father and son. However, few of these films center on the relationship between a Black father and his Black child. Ugly stereotypes often depict Black fathers as lesser than their white counterparts. However, in reality, anyone with a Black father will undoubtedly recount nothing but admiration for the man who raised them. In fact, it’s especially hard not to admire someone for having hope when they are in a dire situation. Raising a child without the immediate means to do so is definitely one of those such occurrences. A perfect example of this rarely explored notion is also one of the most heartwrenching films this writer has ever seen, The Pursuit of Happyness.

To start things off, The Pursuit of Happyness is based on Chris Gardner’s 2006 best-selling memoir of the same name. Gardner is a highly successful American businessman and motivational speaker. However, Gardner’s story is drenched in tragedy. From a very young age, Gardner was deprived of a positive father figure. With his dad absent, his stepfather was abusive to Gardner, his mother, and many siblings. Unfortunately, his mother was convicted of trying to kill his stepfather by burning down the house while he was inside.

READ: ‘Minari’ Review: “Finding What Really Matters”

This led to Gardner growing up in the foster care system while seeking relationships with his uncles. Following a short stint in the Navy, Gardner began his career as a research assistant at the University of California Medical Center. However, following a bevy of poor decisions, a stay in jail, and a few failed relationships, Gardner is left homeless and the sole caretaker for his young son, Christopher Jr.

The Pursuit of Happyness benefits hugely from the chemistry between a real-life father and son. Casting Will Smith as Chris Gardner and a young Jaden Smith in the role of Christopher Jr. is a stroke of genius. This raises the stakes for the viewer. The story kicks off with Smith’s Gardner taking a pretty big risk. Investing his life savings in portable bone-density scanners, he seeks to demonstrate the tool to doctors. To his credit, he sells most of them. However, his inability to turn a profit takes a toll on his relationship with his wife (Thandie Newton). While they continuously exhibit behavior seen in doomed marriages, they both continue to shower their son with the love and attention he deserves.

Gardner’s luck seemingly takes a twist of fate after he meets Jay Twistle, a manager for Dean Witter Reynolds, an American stock brokerage and securities firm. This chance meeting offers Gardner the chance to impress Twistle with his impressive display of completing a Rubik’s Cube during a taxi ride. However, while impressed, Twistle exits the cab, leaving Gardner with the fare. Not having enough to cover the fee, Gardner flees the taxi driver, losing one of his scanners in the process. The sequence of events poignantly depicts the fleeting moments of hope. Right after taking the chance to show off his intelligence, he is forced to face his financial situation. As he dives deeper into poverty, the glimmer of hope continues to gleam in the eyes of this man simply seeking a chance to prove himself.

READ: ‘Music’ Review: “A Tone-Deaf Drama Without Borders”

Another fine example of hope vanishing is when Gardner strikes a deal to paint his apartment to avoid eviction. This comes the day before an interview he obtains to become an intern at Jay Twistle’s firm. However, two policemen greet him at his doorstep and haul him to jail for unpaid parking tickets. Nevertheless, Gardner does not allow the world’s incessant ability to hold him down to change his mind. He is going to succeed. He has to for his son.

Fortunately, after spending a night in jail, he impresses the interviewers and lands an unpaid internship. He would be amongst 20 interns competing for a paid position as a stockbroker. More hope. However, unimpressed by the unpaid status of his new gig, Gardner’s wife leaves for New York. A bitter scene sees Gardner exert his frustration and claims his wife is unfit to be a single mother. After an eviction, Garnder finds himself as a single father with $22 to his name. Hope begins to diminish while never truly extinguishing.

It is difficult to take the rags-to-riches story of Chris Gardner, a story audiences know has a happy ending, and imbue it with suspense. However, seeing the real emotion Will Smith manages to capture from taking his son to homeless shelters or sleeping in the bathroom of a subway station with one foot firmly on the door, is heartwrenching. The pain Gardner feels is felt through the screen thanks to a performance Smith will never get enough credit for. Furthermore, the pure elation the Oscar nominee expresses when the happy ending is reached is one that will be regarded as one of his best career performances.

READ: Sundance 2021: ‘Try Harder!’ Movie Review

The film manages to steer away from feeling inauthentic in its execution. Gardner is struggling to make a go of it by any means possible. The film never feels corny nor does the narrative of angst and disappointment ever overstay its welcome. Instead, The Pursuit of Happyness tells the story of an extraordinary man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. More importantly, the story is about a father’s desire to give his son what he never had. The motivation for Gardner’s success appears to be his hope to live up to his unending potential. However, when viewing the story as a Black father fighting his way through countless obstacles, the true motivation is to get a child out of a situation in which they have no control over. It all feels real. – Christian Hubbard

In honor of the unconscionable murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other Black lives, please take a moment to visit the Black Lives Matter homepage and see how you can help. Spread awareness!

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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) Review

Hitting all the heartstrings.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

A miraculous thing happens in The Pursuit of Happyness and I don’t just mean the transformation of a down on his luck salesman with a dream into a man living the dream. The trailer portrayed a movie that is as schmaltzy as the day is long, but that’s not the movie I saw unspool on the big screen. This was a movie about life; about how even the best of men can try and take a step forward only to fall flat on their face and all they can do is pick themselves up and keep moving. And this is also a movie about those rare instances where nice guys finish first.

The always likable Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a would-be salesman because he would be if he could sell anything. He once mistakenly invested his and wife Linda’s (Thandie Newton) life-savings into a business opportunity to sell bone density scanners, which has sputtered along for years, never becoming the cash cow he envisioned. Chris sees another opportunity to take a few steps up the socio-economic ladder by applying for an internship at the Dean Witter stock brokerage firm. When Linda hears that Chris is planning on going from salesman to intern, she loses what’s little left of her patience and leaves Chris to go to New York; she does however agree to leave their 5 year old son Christopher (Jaden Smith) in his father’s care.

This would be the first of many downers for Chris in his journey to fiscal solvency against the backdrop of the 80s and the beginning of “Reaganomics”. He’s evicted from his apartment, loses his car, is slapped for payment on all his overdue parking tickets, and spends the night in jail all before his big interview at Dean Witter to which he’s forced to show up to looking like a bum. Fortunately for Chris, he charms his way into getting one of the internships, the non-paying internships. Regardless of the odds though, and regardless of the hardships, Chris continues to persevere in the hopes that when six months is through, he’s the one in twenty that gets a future at the firm.

There were a number of surprises about this movie for me; first and foremost is the fact that the filmmakers, including Italian director Gabriele Muccino, overcome the potential Lifetime Network nature of the material. There’s no dwelling on the calamity and woe but that’s not to say that there’s any glossing over the harsher times for the Chrises. In fact, there’s a great deal of humour in Pursuit, not in the form of jokes or pratfalls, but just in the general humour of life; a kind of, “Isn’t that funny” sort of sentiment. While Chris’s fate is in no real doubt, I personally found some parts hard to watch as you see a man just struggle and fight for all he’s worth only to see some act of fate pull the rug out from under him just as soon as he gets a little bit ahead.

Will Smith is well deserving of his Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Chris, serving as another example of how actors normally not renown for their dramatic chops can knock one out of the park when given a fair chance. Fans may have a difficult time recognizing their hero, for this is not exactly Big Willie Styles coming out to play. There’s a scene where a suddenly homeless Chris holds up in a subway bathroom and breaks down with all the terrible emotion as his son sleeps on the floor next to him. You feel that pain, you feel the weight of that hardship and the momentary lack of hope and you see it all right there in his face. Smith’s real life son Jaden is also superb, a great child actor that is really flawless in hitting his marks.

The Pursuit of Happyness won’t be to everyone’s taste, particularly spell-checkers and copy-editors. But if you like movies that intentionally tug at the heartstrings for all they’re worth, then this will definitely appeal.

Final Thoughts

Adam A. Donaldson, a dynamic writer, crafts a weekly political column for GuelphToday. A former contributor to CGMagazine, he's the force behind Guelph Politico. Outside politics, he writes for Nerd Bastards. Balancing passion with pragmatism, he navigates a diverse range of writing assignments.

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The Pursuit of Happyness review | An emotional rollercoaster

Movies have the power to make you laugh, become emotional, and even profoundly move you at the same time. the pursuit of happyness is an inspiring story for the audience. read on for the pursuit of happyness review ., table of contents, the journey of pursuit, the pursuit of happyness review, thoughts about the movie, key takeaways.

Many of us can relate to the struggle of deciding which movie to watch. The Pursuit of Happyness, unlike other films, emotionally moves the audience because it is based on a true story. It will give you the right inspiration to go forward and catch your dreams. If you are interested in a career in filmmaking, reading movie and book reviews can help you shape your ideas for your projects and give you an understanding of the viewer’s mindset, all the while keeping in mind what you should and shouldn’t do.

Keep reading to see what The Pursuit of Happyness review has to offer.

‘The Pursuit of Happyness,’ written by Steven Conrad and directed by Gabriele Muccino, is a moving story about fatherhood, poverty, and preserving childhood innocence. The film was moving and executed so that it inspires genuine emotion in its viewers throughout its nearly two-hour runtime. The film is a high-quality drama with a powerful message about society and the American dream .

The film’s strength stems from its expert portrayal of a man who finds hope at rock bottom and succeeds in keeping his son safe even when circumstances force them to live on the streets. Chris Gardener, played fabulously by Will Smith, barricades himself and his son Christopher inside a subway station bathroom so that his son can sleep throughout the night with some feeling of security and safety. It is the film’s most powerful scene.

The genius of the scene and the film is that Chris keeps his son’s innocence intact by telling him they went back in time. He says that the subway bathroom is a cave and that they’re hiding from imaginative dinosaurs while hiding his tears and grief.

Another strong point is the film’s message, portrayed in an emotional monologue on a rooftop basketball court. “Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something,” Chris tells his son and, by extension, the audience. “You’ve got a dream. You’ve got to protect it,” he says after inadvertently dampening Christopher’s dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. “You want something, go and get it.”

It’s a message we’ve all heard before, but the conviction with which Smith delivers those lines, and the story, demonstrates the point so well breathes new life into the somewhat generic ‘follow your dreams’ speech.

The film reminds us how short life is not to be as happy and cheerful. We forget to be grateful in this fast-paced world, and this film reminds us of that. Reality can break you, but how you deal with it is entirely up to you. It reminds us to be grateful for the opportunity to spend time with the people we care about and spend time with them.

There are minor faults in the face of such incredible acting and beautifully emotional events. ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ remains an excellent film that uses emotion and childhood innocence to challenge viewers to respect and admire what they have while striving to achieve their dreams.

From The Pursuit of Happyness review, we learn that we often try to pursue happiness when we miss the smaller ‘happiness’ in our lives. This message in the film was exactly what everyone needed to hear.

The Pursuit of Happyness takes us through an emotional ride and teaches valuable life lessons.
The father-son bond is something you cannot give a miss.
The movie tells its viewers to find real happiness and enjoy what they have while still chasing their dreams.

Explore the world of movies and the work that goes on behind the scenes. If you would like to know more or have any queries regarding filmmaking and pursuing it as a career, then please get in touch with us .

Liked this blog? Read next: Harry Potter book series | A magical adventure.

1. What is the main theme of “The Pursuit of Happyness” movie?

Answer: The main theme of “The Pursuit of Happyness” revolves around family, determination, and never giving up on one’s dreams despite facing extreme adversity. The film portrays the journey of a father, played by Will Smith, who finds hope and success even when living on the streets with his son, all while preserving his child’s innocence.

2. How does “The Pursuit of Happyness” inspire its viewers?

Answer: “The Pursuit of Happyness” inspires its viewers through the portrayal of a man who overcomes challenging circumstances and manages to keep his son’s innocence intact. The film delivers a powerful message about pursuing one’s dreams and not letting anyone deter you. It encourages the audience to protect their dreams and take action to achieve them, with an emotional monologue from Will Smith’s character serving as a memorable moment in the film.

3. What is the key takeaway from the movie, as mentioned in the blog?

Answer: The key takeaway is to appreciate the smaller moments of happiness in life, remain grateful, and pursue dreams with determination

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Movie Review: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

General Disdain
Movie Reviews
4 responses
--> December 24, 2006

Come Christmas time, or should I say Holiday time (for all the politically correct douchebags out there), Hollywood without question drops the old rags-to-riches, feel good movies into our laps. So it is no surprise that The Pursuit of Happyness shows up just in time for the gift exchange.

Even though most folks who know me (and many who don’t) call me a cynical asshole, and in a general sense I agree with them, I am still a sucker for these cream-puff movies. Perhaps it is my own misgivings or inner demons that cause me to be transfixed by these melodramatic offerings. Or perhaps it is because I can always expect to see a roomful of girls with tears in their eyes — easing pickings for a predator. I prefer the latter explanation.

Now on to the movie — Will Smith plays Chris Gardner a man down on his luck (fucked up job, fucked up wife, etc.), who decides he needs to make a life altering change to raise himself and his child above the chaos and poverty that is their current existence. To do this he decides to become a stock broker at one of the largest firms in the country — without knowing a damn thing about stocks or bonds. Quite a feat, and one that proves the axiom “you can do anything if you put your mind to it”. Why? Because, The Pursuit of Happyness is a true story.

But beyond the typical take a look in the mirror and decide if you like what you see plot, the movie offers insights into the homeless and society as whole. The underlying racism is used as a backdrop, but given enough light for the viewers to take notice of it. This movie also shows how truly fucked up things are, when a man and his 5 year-old child have to sleep in a subway bathroom or on a bus. All the while people around them pay little to no attention to them and continue on with their own petty lives. Other movies have had similar themes, but it really strikes home when a small child is involved. Never, ever should a child be homeless.

And even though, I’m not the biggest fan of Will Smith, I must say, he carried the role well. The cockiness that he normally oozes out of his skin is nowhere to be found and I found myself actually feeling sorry for his character’s situation and applauding him for trying like hell to make something better. If only every man in the world had this mans’ convictions. A more pleasant surprise is the acting of Jaden Smith. Jaden portrays the son, and from what I can tell this is his first real acting experience. The sky is the limit with this kid, as he does an excellent job of capturing the hope and fear that this boy feels. As for the rest of the supporting cast — they do their job well enough, not really adding much, mostly ensuring they aren’t fucking anything up.

So it comes a shock to me, as much as to you, that I actually think this is an Oscar winner for Will Smith. The Pursuit of Happyness has all the needed elements in place to make this a reasonable guess. Great acting, good theme, well received — and the biggest reason — it’s all about a black guy. What more could you fucking want?

If The Pursuit of Happyness can’t get you off of your fat, sweaty ass, you’re hopeless. And do the rest of us a favor and shut the fuck up.

Tagged: son , stock broker , true story

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)' have 4 comments

March 23, 2007 @ 3:36 pm JerseyMike

You’ve got to be kidding me right? One dog pile? I’d give this a four big steamy piles.

This movie was the worst pile of garbage I’ve seen in quite some time. The movie had no real “meat” to the plot. Sure it tries to tug at your heart, but fails in a real big way. The editing and film shots were horrible, I think a High School student could have done better.

With all the hype to this movie, I want money back.

August 9, 2007 @ 1:55 pm Martha

This was a really heartwarming story. Will Smith was marvelous in it.

November 24, 2007 @ 9:52 am MrBlueCN

I was utterly disgusted with Will Smith’s character. The choices he made regarding his son were made completely selfishly, with no regard for the child’s best interest. Just as the most glaring one, the fact that if he had let his wife take the child, the child would not have had to sleep in a subway bathroom/homeless shelter, etc. Just because it all turned out in the end is not a reason a child should have to go through suffering of this sort to satisfy his father’s self-serving motions.

December 8, 2007 @ 1:56 pm General Disdain

MrBlueCN — I agree no child should ever have to go through something like this, but what do you think would have happened to the boy if his mother did get custody. As I recall she didn’t even want him with her when she left, so I suspect he may have ended up in a worse position.

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The Pursuit of Happyness: Movie Review and Analysis

Categories: In Pursuit of Happiness Movie Review

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Published: Apr 8, 2022

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Works Cited:

Baer, J. (2013). Coca-Cola's Content 2020 Advertising Strategy. Convince & Convert. https://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/coca-colas-content-2020-advertising-strategy/
Bragesjö, F. (2011). Coca-Cola: History, Advertising and the American Dream. Culture Unbound, 3, 413-435. Crossland, K. (2019). The History of Advertising: A Comprehensive Timeline, From Print to Digital. Hubspot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/history-of-advertising
Gaffney, J. (2019). How Coca-Cola Became the King of Advertising. HousingWire.
Green, C. (2019). Coca-Cola's Evolution of Ads: From Polar Bears to Sustainable Development. Triple Pundit.
Kleinberg, A. (2014). The Evolution of Advertising. Inc.
Nudd, T. (2014). History of Advertising: How We Got Here. Adweek.
Raye, A. (2015). A Brief History of Coca-Cola Advertising Slogans. The Daily Meal. https://www.thedailymeal.com/drink/brief-history-coca-cola-advertising-slogans
Sabatier, G. (2019). Digital Advertising: Past, Present, and Future. Millennial Money.
Stanton, J. W. (2007). Coke's Recipe for Success. Harvard Business Review, 85(11), 30-32.

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Pursuit of Happyness, The (United States, 2006)

With a title like The Pursuit of Happyness , you expect the characters to get to the promised land. They do, but if the journey matters more than the destination, this is a movie to skip. The Pursuit of Happyness is long, dull, and depressing. It expands into two hours a story that could have been told more effectively in one. This is not the feel-good movie of the season unless you believe that a few moments of good cheer can redeem 110 minutes of gloom. Sitting through The Pursuit of Happyness is a chore. Downbeat movies aren't inherently bad (in fact, many are powerful), but this one provides artificial characters in contrived circumstances. How is it that movies "inspired by a real story" often feel more fake than those fully embedded in the realm of fiction?

Will Smith has generated Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Chris Gardner, the real-life guy whose rags-to-riches story forms the basis of the movie. (Impoverished guy becomes capitalist poster boy.) While it's fair to say that this is one of the best straight performances of Smith's career, it didn't blow me away. In and of itself, the acting, while effective, is not Best Actor material, but it wouldn't surprise me if the movie's prestige factor and Smith's popularity earn him a nod. Meanwhile, his female co-star, Thandie Newton, isn't going to be considered for any award. Newton spends about 90% of her screen time doing an impersonation of a harpy: screeching, bitching, and contorting her face into unpleasant expressions. Smith's son, Jaden, is okay as the movie's child protagonist; it's unclear whether his occasional deficiencies are the result of his acting, Steven Conrad's writing, or Gabriele Muccino's direction, but there's not much personality behind the cute features and curly hair.

Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is down on his luck. It's 1981 San Francisco and his self-employed business of selling portable bone density scanners isn't doing well. His wife, Linda (Thandie Newton), does nothing but yell at him and give him a cold shoulder, and the lack of domestic harmony is impacting the disposition of his beloved son, Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith). That's when Chris' life turns into a country song. His wife leaves. He is evicted from his home. He goes to jail, neither passing GO nor collecting a much-needed $200. He gets hit by a car. He is robbed. He makes his son cry. He alienates a friend over $14. He gets to spend a night in the cleanest public restroom in the history of public restrooms. But there's a bright spot, although you need a dark-adapted eye to find it. Despite having no experience, Chris applies to enter an internship program at Dean Witter. He would appear to have no chance to get in until he amazes the head of the program (Brian Howe) by solving the Rubik's Cube puzzle in the back of a taxi cab.

It's a blessing that the movie doesn't use a stock villain to impede Chris' herky-jerky trip to the top, because that would have tipped the movie into the empire of the unwatchable. However, the lack of a strong conflict makes the two-hour running length seem very long. Thankfully, there's also not much in the way of overt melodrama, but that could be a byproduct of having characters who are not deeply realized and have narrow emotional ranges. It's tough to connect with Chris and his son. Although they are played by a real-life father and son, there's no chemistry between them. We're constantly told how desperately Chris loves Christopher, but it takes a long time before we begin to buy it. Most of the time, Christopher seems like an annoying piece of baggage that Chris drops off at daycare when he has other things to do.

The film's most compelling scenes are those that show Chris struggling to enter the rat race. Granted, this is no Glengarry Glen Ross , but it shows the pressure these salesmen are under and how important the contact lists are. In the overall scheme of things, however, these sequences are background noise. They are neither plentiful nor lengthy. The movie spends more time following Chris on his futile sales rounds for the bone density scanner than it does accompanying him during his broker training.

The moral of the story is as trite as they come: don't let anyone convince you to give up on your dreams. Disney animated films have been doing this better for decades. The Pursuit of Happyness concludes with a caption that tells us what happens to Chris after the end of the movie; it promises a better story than the one we have just watched. The film is also marred by a persistent (although not verbose) voiceover that adds nothing to the story while frequently jerking us out of the experience of watching it. I don't need Will Smith telling me: "This part of the story is called 'riding the bus.'"

This is the English-language debut of Gabriele Muccino, who has made a name for himself in Italian cinema. The Pursuit of Happyness has the kind of slow, drab tone one occasionally associates with a director raised outside of the Hollywood system. What can be an asset in some circumstances is a detriment in this one. The Pursuit of Happyness isn't enjoyable, and its meager pleasures, including the eventual "payoff," aren't enough to justify the unrelenting misery. The Pursuit of Happyness is competently made and gets lots of the details right, but when it comes to the emotional core of the story, it loses the pursuit and misses the "happyness."

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You've probably heard the saying, “Not all heroes wear capes.” These underdog stories are about heroes who don’t have super strength and cannot shoot perfect jump shots to save the day. But through their resilience and sheer will , they manage to fight corruption and injustice in a way that many can relate to in their own lives. These average-person underdog movies are testament to the fact that we’re all larger-than-life figures with stories waiting to be written (and eventually told) about.

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17 Norma Rae (1979)

Norma Rae is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton. It takes place in a small factory town dependent on cotton mills and it follows Norma Rae Webster, who is a mother of two children with absent fathers, working grueling shifts on the mill floor to provide the bare minimum for her family. After having had enough of the poor working conditions and long hours without compensation, she teams up with a union organizer and rallies against the company bosses.

A Protest That Echoed Far and Wide

Every country has had its fair share of labor protests , which sprout from on-the-ground workers having to suffer from exhaustion and illness while the higher ups make monetary gains. What ensues is a fight against such injustices and systematic oppression. The story of Norma Rae is about empowerment and solidarity and courage. It is led by Sally Field’s complex and fierce performance and helmed by Martin Ritt's dignified and grounded lens.

16 North Country (2005)

North country.

In 1989, Josey Aimes arrived with her two children in the Minnesota mining town she grew up in. Struggling to make ends meet, she finds work in the local iron ore mine only to be met with constant contempt and abuse from her male co-workers. When her complaints fall on deaf ears, Josey divides to take a stand and sues her employer. The legal battle progresses, and soon it ignites a national movement.

Paved the Way For Many Voices

The screenplay for North Country was inspired by a book Laura Leedy Gansler wrote chronicling the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company and the formation of workplace protection acts that it led to. Charlize Theron vanished into the role of Josey, a survivor making sure the women who come after her do not have to endure injustices and remain silent. The movie brings light to issues that are still prevalent today through its dignified voice and strong message. Stream on Hoopla

15 Spotlight (2015)

Back in 2001, when Marty Baron stepped up as the new managing editor of The Boston Globe, he assembled the reporters on the “Spotlight” team to begin an investigation on the cover-ups that have kept a repeatedly accused Catholic priest in church for decades. Their digging uncovers a scandal about corrupt local authorities and how more than a dozen sexually abusive priests have been protected by the Church.

About Everyday Heroes and Their Hard Work

Spotlight is a biographical drama, but its pace is that of a thriller, with the decades-long timelines focusing on the newsroom process and hands-on investigation. The brilliant ensemble cast, which includes Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup, displays dedication as journalists, who may not be heroes, but their everyday hard work and methodical approach to facts saves several lives. Stream on Starz

14 Working Girl (1988)

Working girl (1988).

A workplace rom-com that lifts your spirits, Working Girl follows Tess McGill, a street-smart working-class woman from Staten Island who dreams of making it big in corporate. Her calculating boss, Katherine, often takes credit for her ideas. So when she breaks her leg on a skiing trip, Tess unofficially steps into her role and pitches a brilliant investment idea. Meanwhile, Tess also sparks up a romance with a co-worker named Jack Trainer.

Celebrates Ambitious Underdogs

Unlike several other movies on this list, Working Girl is a fictional piece of work. Writer/director Mike Nichols brings life to a story about ambition and rising above prejudice through the eyes of a woman who refuses to accept the limitations placed upon her. Melanie Griffith sparkles in her role as Tess, a witty and driven woman. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Both Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver are equally unabashed and incredible in their performances. Rent on Apple TV

13 Ratatouille (2007)

Ratatouille.

One of the highest-grossing films of the year and winner of an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Ratatouille is a beloved Pixar movie. Set mostly in Paris, it centers around a rat named Remy. He desires to become a great chef and possesses creative and sensory talents. He forms an unlikely friendship with a young and inept kitchen employee, Alfredo Linguini, where he helps him cook food by controlling him from under his chef’s hat.

Pixar’s Tale of Chasing your Dreams

Once again, Pixar works its magic in telling a charming tale where two underdogs pursue their gifts despite society giving them plenty of reasons why they shouldn’t. Ratatouille is not only a celebration of passion and innovation, but also a resonant tale about never judging someone based on appearance or physical traits. Directed with visual grandeur, humor, and heart by Brad Bird, the movie is a flawlessly animated masterpiece. Stream on Disney+

Related: Best Movies About Food That We Can't Live Without

12 300 (2006)

A historical war epic, 300 is set in 480 BC. It follows Spartan King Leonidas receiving the news about a massive Persian army intending to invade his homeland with the sole purpose of destroying everything and turning the women and children into slaves. Leonidas leads 300 Spartans into battle against Xerxes' forces fighting to their last breaths to defend themselves and their future generations.

Big Scale Historical Wonder

A feast for the senses, 300 brings Frank Miller’s graphic novel to astounding life using visual effects. Director Zack Snyder transforms what could have been a historical lesson into a thrilling ride about two factions fighting with spirit and defiance while also examining their respective virtues and honor. The action is pulse-pounding and the dialogue is witty. Additionally, Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, and Rodrigo Santoro deliver fantastic performances. Rent on Apple TV

11 Dark Waters (2019)

Dark waters.

Dark Waters is a legal thriller that stars Mark Ruffalo as Robert Bilott, a corporate defense lawyer at a small firm in West Virginia. After a farmer approaches and informs him about a mysterious illness causing the deaths of the locals, Bilott begins a deep investigation into the matter. What he uncovers is that DuPont, a global chemical company, has been steadily contaminating the local water supply with poisonous materials for decades.

A David Battles Corporate Goliaths

Based on a true David vs. Goliath story about the largest environmental contaminations in the history of the United States, Dark Waters brings much-needed attention to those aspects of society that are often neglected or overlooked. While massive corporations inflict harm on vulnerable communities, few determined individuals bring about meaningful change. Directed by Todd Haynes, the movie is a satisfactory slow-burn with the right ending. Stream on Netflix

10 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Slumdog millionaire.

In Slumdog Millionaire , we follow 18-year-old Jamal Malik, who is within reach of winning ₹20 million on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” But after he is accused of cheating his way to the top, flashbacks of his incredible stories appear. From growing up in the slums of Mumbai as an Indian-Muslims to using street smarts to survive through its dangers, Jamal’s journey reveals hot life in the slum shaped him into the person he is today.

Award-Winning Rags-to-Riches Story

Regarded as a sleeper hit, Slumdog Millionaire won massive international acclaim for its direction, cinematography, editing, plot, and performances. Especially that of Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, who are revelatory in their leading roles. Directed by Danny Boyle, it brings the streets of Mumbai alive through gritty realism and thrilling vignettes. The movie also uses vibrant colors and a rousing score to celebrate its underdog story. Rent on Apple TV

9 Mulan (1998)

Mulan (1998).

Disney’s coming-of-age action adventure tells the story of Fa Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored but aged warrior named Fa Zhou, who is called to join the battle against the invading army of Huns. Acting out of love and duty, Mulan masquerades as a man and takes her father’s place in the Chinese army to fight in his stead. The warzone is brutal but Mulan proves herself worthy to her comrades through bravery, perseverance and clever tactics.

Mulan Breaks Stereotypes

Directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft in their feature directorial debut, Mulan is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan. With its portrayal of a heroine as brave and unconventional, the adaptation shatters stereotypes of femininity and identity.

Ming-Na Wen voices Mulan with a perfect balance of vulnerability and strength. And while the sweeping visuals transport you to ancient China, the story itself is an inspirational underdog tale that stands the test of time. Stream on Disney+

8 The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The pursuit of happyness.

Clever, charming, and driven by character, The Pursuit of Happyness follows down-on-his-luck salesman Chris Gardner who invests his entire life savings in a new product. When it doesn’t sell, he takes up an unpaid and risky stockbroker internship for a chance at a better life for his young son and making things right with her estranged wife. Despite enduring months of unpaid working hours and sleeping in homeless shelters, Christ refuses to give up on his dream.

A Timeless Triumph

A profoundly moving celebration of hope, the based-on-a-true-story film is about a father and son’s inspiring bond as they push through every great trouble through courage and faith. Considered as one of Will Smith’s most memorable performances, it sees him disappear into the role of Gardner, with his son Jaden Smith playing the five-year-old. The entire movie is ripe with tragedy and dark days, but the tender moments between Smith and his son stand out strongest. Rent on Apple TV

Related: Best Movies About Being the Underdog, Ranked

7 A Civil Action (1998)

In Woburn, Massachusetts, several children contract leukemia and die from the disease. After evidence about two major corporations contaminating the local groundwater are found, the town’s residents and a persistent attorney file a lawsuit against them and an investigation begins.

The case questions whether a certain industrial solvent can cause cancer in humans. Despite being cornered, Jan Schlichtmann’s voice helps another firm hold the companies accountable for their actions.

Lends a Voice to the Voiceless

Directed by Steven Zaillian and adapted from a 1995 book of the same name, the movie highlights the lengths at which lawyers are willing to go to defend and brings justice to citizens and grieving families from a system that values profits over human lives. John Travolta immerses himself in Schlichtmann and is equal parts dramatic and empathetic.

Featuring supporting turns from the industry’s finest stars like William H. Macy, John Lithgow, and Tony Shalhoub, the movie is a must-watch. Stream on Hoopla

6 The Insider (1999)

Another true-life thriller that took the country by storm, The Insider follows Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a former tobacco company executive turned whistleblower who places himself and his family in danger by revealing the truth about how his company and other tobacco companies manipulate nicotine levels and mislead the public on the health impacts of smoking cigarettes.

He takes the insider information to 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, the story tops news cycles, a lawsuit looms, and threats of danger to his life reach Jeffrey.

America’s Greatest Whistleblower Story

Under the immaculate direction of Michael Mann, this intense and intimidating movie brings an epidemic out of the shadows. It stars Al Pacino and Russell Crowe as the press heroes driven to report facts rather than staying silent. Mann’s direction is not just about bringing transparency to consumers, but it also calls out multi-billion dollar companies and how easy it is for them to smoke out anyone who challenges them.

The result? An absolutely riveting movie. Stream on The Criterion Channel

5 October Sky (1999)

October sky.

October Sky takes place in a West Virginia coal mining town during the 1950s. It revolves around a high schooler named Homer Hickam, who witnesses Sputnik 1 in the sky and is fascinated by the piece of machinery. He dreams of going against his friends and family’s expectations of working in the mines like his father and becoming a rocket scientist instead. Despite the lack of faith, Homer works hard to pursue his dream.

Dreams Begins With a Dreamer

The movie tells the true story of Homer H. Hickam Jr., a coal miner’s son who eventually went on to become a NASA engineer. The character is portrayed brilliantly by Jake Gyllenhaal, who crafts a role model for anyone willing to achieve great things in life through their curiosity and genius. Meanwhile, the movie also captures small-town American life and how an individual’s background and class limits their potential. Rent on Apple TV

4 Hidden Figures (2016)

Hidden figures.

Celebrating three Black women and their contribution to a pivotal moment in American history, Hidden Figures is a biographical drama that takes you back in time to the 1960s, when the space race was in full swing, and introduces you to Katherine Goble and her colleagues Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson.

As gifted mathematicians, these African-American women work for NASA and use their intelligence to provide input that helped launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit, all the while fighting systemic racism and workplace sexism.

Real-Life Women Who Changed the World

They say the mind is a terrible thing to waste. These trailblazers prove it better than anyone. Hidden Figures is led by a marvelous cast of actors; Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe bring our graceful, talented and all too forgotten figures to live in a vibrant fashion. Director Theodore Melfi is not subtle in paying his tribute to these women . Instead, he infuses as much heart and warmth as possible into the story, making it a standout work in the genre. Stream on Disney+

3 Just Mercy (2019)

In Just Mercy , Michael B. Jordan plays a young lawyer named Bryan Stevenson. He’s dedicated all his life to defending those he believes are condemned to death row through unfair trials and mistreatment. One such wrongfully convicted man is Walter McMillian, an African-American man sentenced to death by electrocution for the murder of an 18-year-old white girl. Stevenson digs deep to find evidence and starts a heart wrenching battle for justice for McMillian.

An Important Story Told Well

Starring alongside a transformative Jordan is Jamie Foxx, who gives an equally raw and unflinching performance as the inmate facing injustice at the hands of the law. Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s vision is rooted in empathy, which allows him to craft a struggle that’s solemn, steady, and earnest. A call to our collective conscience, Just Mercy is based on Stevenson's own memoir, in which he details his life's work. Stream on Tubi TV

Related: Movies That Will Make You Want to Be A Better Person

2 Gattaca (1997)

A dystopian thriller written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Gattaca is set in a future where society is divided based on genetics. Those created through genetic alterations are “valids” and those born with the old-fashioned biological way are “in-valids” because they’re more susceptible to diseases. Vincent Freeman is one of the latter trying to pass as the former with the help of his friend. But when a piece of DNA evidence is found on a scene of murder, Freeman’s lies are exposed.

Self-Conscious Dystopian Thriller

Sci-fi underdogs are not an anomaly in cinema, but they’re definitely rare. Niccol tries to take the road less taken by crafting a thoughtful thriller that examines a futuristic society divided by class. Ethan Hawke is incredible as Vincent, an authentic character not diminished by circumstances out of his control. The movie is also philosophical and provocative, and it flew under the radar during its theatrical release, but is a beloved hit today. Stream on Prime Video

1 Silkwood (1983)

One of Mike Nichols' best movies of all time, Silkwood is a dramatization of the real-life story of nuclear plant worker Karen Silkwood who becomes a union activist after she discovers that the exposure to platinum radiation on the job is dangerous for the workers. She gathers proof about the safety violations and is ready to turn them over in a unionization effort. However, before that, Karen dies in a mysterious car accident.

An Uplifting True Story

A highly emotional melodrama, Silkwood proves that heroes, willing to make sacrifices to protect others, walk among us. Its fact-based approach towards bringing a compelling and tragic matter to life makes it a riveting watch. Of course, at the heart of the movie is a powerfully human performance by Meryl Streep , who disappears into her activist role and is equal parts fierce and complex. After all, a Nichols-Ephron-Streep collaboration couldn't go wrong, could it?

Cast & crew
User reviews

The Pursuit of Happyness

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
Based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner. Gardner has invested heavily in a device known as a "bone density scanner". He feels like he has it made selling these devices. However, they do not sell well as they are marginally better than x-ray at a much higher price. As Gardner works to make ends meet, his wife leaves him and he loses his apartment. Forced to live out in the streets with his son, Gardner continues to sell bone density scanners while concurrently taking on an unpaid internship as a stockbroker, with slim chances for advancement to a paid position. Before he can receive pay, he needs to outshine the competition through 6 months of training, and to sell his devices to stay afloat. — John Wiggins, Alf Fonz
1981, San Francisco. In what limited academic opportunities he has had in his life, Chris Gardner has demonstrated that he is a smart man. Yet he is struggling financially in his life. He has invested all his money on portable bone density scanners, which he personally sells to physicians. Despite being a better product than x-rays machines, they are also far more expensive, meaning that they are an unnecessary luxury for most physicians. He needs to sell three scanners per month just to meet the basic necessities to support his family, his wife, Linda, and their five year old son, Christopher, on who he dotes since he didn't know his own father when he was a child. But lately, that has been three per month more than he has sold, resulting in an increasing embittered Linda continually needing to work double shifts doing manual work at a laundry, which still isn't enough to cover those basic costs, they being currently behind three months rent. Chris can't afford to pay his parking ticket, meaning that he has to take the bus everywhere now as the clamp remains on the tire of his car. Feeling like the scanner is not the answer to their financial problems, Chris, with or without Linda's blessing, decides to take a chance by switching careers when he sees that brokerage and securities firm Dean Witter has a six month internship program, which only admits twenty applicants, leading to only one intern being hired at the end of the process. It isn't until he is well immersed into the process that he learns that the internships are non-paying. Based largely on his chutzpah, Chris, against the odds, gets one of the twenty positions. With some changes in their lives resulting in fewer expenses, Chris figures he needs to sell his remaining six scanners just to scrape by for those six months. But some unexpected issues arise which leads to the Gardners possibly not making it through this phase of their lives financially, something he has to hide from his superiors at Dean Witter if he has any chance at all of making it through the internship and getting that paying job with them. — Huggo
Already struggling to eke out an existence, against the backdrop of early-1980s San Francisco, the earnest and hard-working bone-density-scanner salesman, Chris Gardner, finds himself with the back to the wall. Left with nothing when his wife abandons the family, the financially hard-pressed father will have to take care of his five-year-old son, Christopher, all by himself when, unexpectedly, the prestigious stock brokerage firm of Dean Witter offers Gardner an unpaid six-month internship. Now, bent on becoming a stockbroker, Chris is willing to go to great lengths to succeed; however, life can be challenging and cruel. Will Chris' efforts pay off? Can the determined parent make his dream come true? — Nick Riganas
In 1981, in San Francisco, the smart salesman and family man Chris Gardner ( Will Smith ) invests the family savings in Osteo National bone-density scanners, an apparatus twice as expensive as an x-ray machine but with a slightly clearer image. This white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to his relationship with his wife Linda ( Thandiwe Newton ), who leaves him and moves to New York where she has taken a job in a pizza parlor. Their son Christopher ( Jaden Smith ) stays with Chris because he and his wife both know that he will be able to take better care of him. Without any money or a wife, but committed to his son, Chris sees a chance to fight for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter, offering a more promising career at the end of a six-month unpaid training period. During that period, Chris goes through a lot of hardship personally and professionally. When he thinks he is "stable," he finds that he has lost $600 when the government takes the last bit of money in his bank account for taxes. He is rendered homeless because he can't pay his rent. He is forced at one point to stay in a bathroom at a train station, and must scramble from work every day to the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, which offers shelter to the homeless. He must leave work early every day so that he is there by 5:00 in the evening along with his son so that he may be assured of a place to sleep. He is seen carrying his suitcase to work because he doesn't have a home. At work, there are nineteen other candidates for the one position. One day, he is called into an office and in it were the heads of Dean Witter. Chris thinks that he is about to be told the job will not be his as he says that he wore a shirt and tie for his final day. Then they tell him that he has been an excellent trainee and that tomorrow he will have to wear his shirt and tie again as it will be his first day as a broker. Chris struggles to hold back tears. Outside he begins to cry as the busy people of San Francisco walk past him. He rushes to his son's daycare, hugging him and knowing that after everything him and his son had been through things would be all right. The final scene shows Chris walking with his son down a street. His son is telling him a joke, when a wealthy business man in a suit walks past. Chris looks back as the man continues on. The man in the suit is none other than the real Chris Gardner.

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A.J. Jacobs' 6 favorite books that explore America's foundation

The author recommends works by Benjamin Franklin, Jill Lepore, and more

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"Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787" by James Madison (1840)

The autobiography of benjamin franklin (1791), "a debt against the living" by ilan wurman (2017), "how rights went wrong" by jamal greene (2021), "the pursuit of happiness" by jeffrey rosen (2024), "this america" by jill lepore (2019).

When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.

A.J. Jacobs is the author of " The Know-It-All " and " The Year of Living Biblically ." In his new book, " The Year of Living Constitutionally ," he examines the rights granted in the U.S. Constitution by practicing them as an 18th-century white man would.

Madison's meticulous notes reveal how the Founding Fathers created the first modern democracy. It's compelling to see how different our country could have been if a handful had switched their votes. My favorite alternative America: three co-presidents instead of one. (I'm imagining Biden, Trump, and RFK Jr. with abutting desks in the Oval Office.) Buy it here .

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Franklin's autobiography doubles as one of America's first self-help books. It should be required reading for this alone: Franklin advises never to use the words "certainly" or "undoubtedly" when giving opinions, instead using phrases such as "If I am not mistaken." If I am not mistaken, we need more such humility today. Buy it here .

Writers should understand, and take seriously, the best arguments of those with whom they disagree. Although I come out mostly in favor of living constitutionalism in my book, I tried to present the best case for originalism, and relied extensively on Wurman's incisive defense. Buy it here .

A brilliant book that argues Americans have a flawed view of rights. According to Green, a Columbia law professor, we "fetishize" our constitutional rights, seeing them as absolute. The Founders had a more nuanced view, as do many other nations today. We should have more, and weaker, rights. Society functions best when we weigh multiple rights against one another. Buy it here .

In an attempt to figure out what the Founders meant by a good life, Rosen does a deep dive into the books they read, ranging from Stoic philosophy to French political theory. He makes a strong argument that the Founders believed happiness was tied to virtue: not just feeling good, but doing good. Buy it here .

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Lepore, one of my favorite writers and historians, rejects both xenophobic nationalism and an overemphasis on identity politics, both of which she sees as threats to America. She favors a civic patriotism based on American ideals such as welcoming dissent, protecting free speech, and nurturing invention. Buy it here .

This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here .

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This baby is in the pursuit of happiness. Are South Korea’s climate goals stopping him?

A one-year-old baby is a litigant in a case against the South Korean government over its ‘insufficient’ response to climate change.

“Woodpecker”, as the baby boy is nicknamed, was not yet born when his parents filed the case on his behalf, alongside the parents of more than 61 children under the age of five.

The young peoples’ case was merged with three similar ones filed between 2020 and 2023, with the first hearing held in the South Korean constitutional court last month. The second and final hearing takes place tomorrow (21 May).

Woodpecker isn’t only one of the youngest plaintiffs in climate litigation history; this is the first case in East Asia to challenge national climate policies, and so could set a huge precedent.

Climate activists glue themselves to Munich airport runway

Children are more likely to be hospitalised for asthma during heatwave, study finds

Why are South Koreans suing their government over climate change?

Around 200 South Koreans from the combined cases are suing the government in total, claiming that its climate goals are too weak.

Under its current nationally determined contribution (NDC) to meeting the UN Paris Agreement, the government is aiming to lower the country’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) to 40 per cent below 2018 levels by 2030.

The Paris Agreement seeks to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, with an upper limit of 2C. But if all countries held South Korea’s level of ambition, the world would shoot up to 3C by the end of the century, according to the Climate Action Tracker .

The plaintiffs claim that the government is failing to provide constitutionally required protection of their fundamental rights. Namely: right to life, right to pursue happiness, right to general freedom, right to property, right to healthy environment. They also argue that the State is failing to fulfil its obligation to provide its people with protection from disasters.

“The climate crisis is already upon us but the effects will be felt even more intensely by future generations. Cases like this are vital to safeguarding citizen’s rights,” says Jiyoun Yoo, Amnesty International Korea’s Climate Justice Campaigner.

“Taking legal action against a state is often a long and arduous process which requires patience and perseverance and the courage of these pioneering plaintiffs is to be admired and applauded.”

With countries due to update their NDCs next year, the climate campaigners are hoping the case will force South Korea to be more ambitious in its next round of climate plans, lasting until 2035.

Why I'm angry that eight children had to fight Australia in court for two years

Does South Korea’s case draw on European climate lawsuits?

East Asia may not have had a constitutional climate case like this before, but a growing tide of global climate cases provides plenty of examples to draw on.

Europe, Canada, Australia, India and Brazil have all seen similar cases filed in recent years, an article in the journal ‘Nature’ notes.

Dr Mingzhe Zhu, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, UK who explores the transformations of law in pursuit of a more sustainable future, sees a parallel between the South Korean case and Neubauer, et al. v Germany.

In this 2020 case, another group of young people filed a legal challenge to Germany ’s Federal Climate Protection Act (Bundesklimaschutzgesetz or KSG) in the Federal Constitutional Court. They also argued that the KSG’s goal of reducing GHGs by 55 per cent until 2030 from 1990 levels was insufficient, and so violated their human rights as shrined in Germany’s constitution.

The Court accepted the intergenerational injustice thrust of their argument. It found that the KSG did not fairly distribute the carbon budget between current and future generations.

“One generation must not be allowed to consume large portions of the CO2 budget while bearing a relatively minor share of the reduction effort, if this would involve leaving subsequent generations with a drastic reduction burden and expose their lives to serious losses of freedom,” it wrote.

The outcome was that Germany’s federal lawmakers made the KSG more ambitious in 2021, to target a 65 per cent cut in GHGs by 2030.

I would love to see if the Korean constitutional justices consider the Neubauer case and how they appreciate the interests of future generations.

“I would love to see if the Korean constitutional justices consider the Neubauer case and how they appreciate the interests of future generations,” Dr Zhu tells Euronews Green.

In Europe, a landmark ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) last month is inspiring for a couple of reasons, he adds. The Court ruled in favour of KlimaSeniorinnen (Swiss Elders for Climate Protection), a group of 2,000 Swiss women who argued they are particularly affected by their government’s lack of climate action.

“The applicants' strategy is clever because they manage to narrow the adverse climate impacts down to a specific group of victims,” Dr Zhu says.

“Also, the ECtHR adopted the provisions of the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] to the needs for climate governance by using interpretative methods. I think both litigants and judges in East Asia (and other jurisdictions) will learn from this case as a whole, not only its ruling.”

Renewable records and green awards: Positive environmental stories from 2024

What impact could the case have in South Korea and beyond?

If the South Korean case is similarly successful, climate campaigners hope it will have big reverberations too.

“If we have a favourable precedent in South Korea, I think that will really be a trigger in spreading this trend,” Sejong Youn, who is a legal counsel for the case in Seoul , told ‘Nature’.

“It will send a message: all countries need to take action in order to tackle this global crisis, and there are no exceptions,” he said.

Litigation tends to be seen as a last resort in East Asian countries. But researchers say a successful outcome will embolden others in the region to act.

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Jerry Seinfeld Heckled At Virginia Comedy Show By Pro-Palestinian Protester

By Bruce Haring

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The WTKR employee said protesters were yelling about children in Gaza.

Other attendees can be seen shouting “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” as the protester was ushered out by security.

Seinfeld apologized to the crowd for the disruption and later joked about it.

In another video posted to Instagram , an individual yells, “Save the children of Gaza,” and “No more American tax dollars for genocide.”

People in the crowd told the protester to “shut up,” and he responded by yelling toward Seinfeld that he was “a genocide supporter.” It is unclear how many protesters were at the venue, although only one was escorted out. There is no indication of whether police were involved later.

The show producer, SevenVenues, released the following statement to WTKR:

“We are deeply disappointed that a group of protestors disrupted tonight’s sold-out Jerry Seinfeld performance at Chrysler Hall. SevenVenues stands by its policy to remove hecklers and those who disrupt a performance, and will continue to protect the freedom of its patrons to enjoy an artist of their choosing without disruption.”

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The Scrappy World War II Pilots Who Took Flight for a Perilous Mission

In the riveting “Skies of Thunder,” Caroline Alexander considers what it took to get supplies to Allied ground troops in China.

A black and white photograph shows a military transport plane flying over a snowy and mountainous region.

By Elizabeth D. Samet

Elizabeth D. Samet is the author of “Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness.”

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SKIES OF THUNDER: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World, by Caroline Alexander

“You and your outfit have been assigned one of the most important military missions ever given to American soldiers — the task of driving the Japanese back to Tokyo.”

So begins “ A Pocket Guide to India ,” prepared for World War II service members in the western base section of the China-Burma-India Theater, commonly known as the C.B.I. “India is a strange, colorful land,” the guide continues. “If you exercise a normal amount of curiosity you’ll learn much that is fascinating; much that will enable you to begin stories to your children or grandchildren in later years, ‘Now, when I was in India. …’”

If the guide seems to protest too much, perhaps that’s because the C.B.I. was, as Caroline Alexander explains in her riveting new book, “Skies of Thunder,” under-resourced, improvisational and rife with smugglers, its actual purpose murkier than its symbolic value. It was the war’s “most chaotic theater,” she writes, marked by “competing interests, and contradictions that exposed the fault lines between the Allies.” To some stationed there, C.B.I. stood for “Confusion Beyond Imagination.”

My father, who served as an air traffic controller in the C.B.I., didn’t recall reading the “Pocket Guide,” but he did tell me stories of working in Delhi and Agra, a vital supply depot and service point, and traveling to various locations to lay radio-range beacons. The main point of these activities, he explained, was to enable pilots to fly supplies over the Himalayas to China. While it was always easy for me to picture my father in his control tower, those flights over the mountains remained mysterious until I read Alexander’s vivid account.

Alexander, the author of books on Shackleton’s Endurance expedition and the fateful voyage of the Bounty , begins with the Allied loss of Burma to the Japanese in April 1942, which sealed off the ground supply corridor from India to China and led to the opening of an “aerial Burma Road.” This treacherous route, known as “the Hump,” supplied Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government and Allied troops, including the 14th Air Force , commanded by the flamboyant Claire Chennault.

Alexander casts her story as an “epic,” yet it is one in which the actors suffer like Job more often than they fight like Achilles. There are stirring episodes of British sang-froid, “American-style glamour” and remarkable courage among the region’s remote tribal peoples, but it is perseverance that assumes heroic proportions: refugees escaping through the Burmese jungle; soldiers and local laborers hacking through that same jungle to build a new road; Assam airfield personnel living in squalor, seared by the sun, swamped by monsoons, but most of all shrouded in a “miasma of cynical indifference.” What unites this book with the author’s previous work is a fascination with human behavior in extremis.

While Alexander devotes considerable space to strategic and political issues, her interest lies primarily in the vicissitudes of individual human personality. In places she represents the theater’s dysfunction as a tragicomedy of failed relationships at the highest levels of command: between the mercurial Chiang Kai-shek and the American Joseph Stilwell, the theater’s irascible, insecure commanding general; between Stilwell and the unscrupulous, self-aggrandizing Chennault; between Stilwell and the British allies he loathed.

Alexander’s gift for dramatizing these personal animosities occasionally produces seductive yet oversimplified biographical explanations of historical problems, a mode E.H. Carr described as “the Bad King John theory of history.”

Ultimately, and rightly, the pilots — intrepid as “sailors of old” crossing “unknown oceans” — are the core of the book. Demeaned as “Hump drivers,” ostensible noncombatants at the bottom of the aviation hierarchy, they flew an inadequately charted route over baffling terrain, its surreality intensified by their frequent refusal to wear oxygen masks.

Alexander adroitly explicates technical concepts — flight mechanics, de-icing, night vision — but is at her best rendering pilots’ fear. Besides terrain, its sources included weather, enemy aircraft, insufficient training, night missions and “short rations of fuel” on the return leg. At least a pilot could depend on his plane, the beloved Douglas C-47 Skytrain, until the introduction of unreliable or unsound higher-capacity models turned the machines themselves into another source of terror.

Readers thrilled by sagas of flight will marvel at the logistics required to transport a stunning 650,000 tons of cargo by air, the audacity required to fly the Hump, the search-and-rescue operations necessitated by its hazards and the experimental use of aviation involved in the Allied recapture of Burma in 1944.

They will also have to reckon with Alexander’s hard-nosed conclusions about the C.B.I. Others who have chronicled its history concentrated on the strategic merits of this deeply imperfect theater, or celebrated its pioneering use of air power.

The image that dominates the end of Alexander’s epic is “the aluminum trail” of wreckage — “the hundreds of crashed aircraft that still lie undiscovered in the jungles, valleys and fractured ranges beneath the Hump’s old route.”

SKIES OF THUNDER : The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World | By Caroline Alexander | Viking | 496 pp. | $32

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COMMENTS

The Pursuit of Happyness
Directed by Gabriele Muccino. Biography, Drama. PG-13. 1h 57m. By Manohla Dargis. Dec. 15, 2006. A fairy tale in realist drag, "The Pursuit of Happyness" is the kind of entertainment that goes ...
The Pursuit of Happyness
Rated: 7.5/10 Sep 4, 2021 Full Review Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site The Pursuit of Happyness reveals the soul-wasting nature of poverty and the lack of prospects for those condemned to ...
The Pursuit of Happyness Movie Review
Parents need to know that Will Smith will draw kids to this movie. But it's not an action flick or slapstick comedy -- it's an inspirational and often emotionally wrenching story. It includes some very sad scenes between family members, as well as a couple of emotionally scary ones. The mother becomes so frustrated….
The Pursuit of Happyness
It really elevated this movie. Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Sep 4, 2021. The Pursuit of Happyness reveals the soul-wasting nature of poverty and the lack of prospects for those condemned ...
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
blanche-2 22 June 2009. A father and salesman is in "The Pursuit of Happiness" in this 2006 film starring Will Smith, Thandie Newton, and Jaden Smith. This is the real-life story of Chris Gardner, who was eking out a living selling bone density scanners while his wife (Newton) worked double shifts at a hospital.
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
The Pursuit of Happyness: Directed by Gabriele Muccino. With Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Brian Howe. A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
The Pursuit Of Happyness Review
Pursuit Of Happyness, The. Everybody reacts to disappointment in different ways. Some go out and get shit-faced. Others buy a pram, fill it with toys and start throwing. Will Smith, however, makes ...
The Pursuit of Happyness
Chris Gardner (Smith) is a bright and talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a ...
BBC
The Pursuit Of Happyness (2007) Reviewed by Paul Arendt. Updated 11 January 2007. Contains two uses of strong language. Based a on a true story, this tear-jerking tale of a single father's ...
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Metascore. It's a beautiful and understated performance, one that hums with a richer, quieter music than Smith has mustered before. A viral blast of the American Dream. It's "Rocky" with a briefcase. Conrad's last film, the underrated "The Weather Man," was a parade of miseries, too, but the protagonist (Nicolas Cage) didn't move very fast in ...
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith as Chris ... The movie is set in San Francisco in 1981. The film was released on December 15, 2006, by Columbia Pictures, and received positive reviews, with Smith's performance and the emotional weight of the story garnering ...
The Pursuit of Happyness critic reviews
Apart from that, The Pursuit of Happyness is emotionally manipulative and way too glossy to really hit home. Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
The Pursuit of Happyness [Reviews]
Despite his valiant attempts to help keep the family afloat, the mother of his five-year-old son Christopher is buckling under the constant strain of financial pressure. No longer able to cope ...
The Pursuit of Happyness
So vows Chris Gardner, an earnest salesman and father desperately struggling to make ends meet on the hard streets of San Francisco in the early 1980s. But his chosen vocation, peddling expensive bone-density scanners that most physicians don't want, has left him and those he loves hovering on the brink of disaster.
Black History In Film: 'The Pursuit of Happyness' Review
The Pursuit of Happyness benefits hugely from the chemistry between a real-life father and son. Casting Will Smith as Chris Gardner and a young Jaden Smith in the role of Christopher Jr. is a stroke of genius. This raises the stakes for the viewer. The story kicks off with Smith's Gardner taking a pretty big risk.
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) Review
Cast: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Review Score: 8. A miraculous thing happens in The Pursuit of Happyness and I don't just mean the transformation of a down on ...
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Pursuit of Happyness is propelled by Will Smith's energetic performance and the intimacy with young Chris comes naturally since he is played by his own real-life son. Try a Spiritual Practice on Joy. Special DVD features include a commentary by director Gabriele Muccino; Father and Son: Onscreen and Off; The Man Behind the Movie: A ...
The Pursuit of Happyness review
The Pursuit of Happyness review. "Pursuit of Happiness" is a very warm and above all, a very inspiring story about family, determination, and never letting go of one's dream. 'The Pursuit of Happyness,' written by Steven Conrad and directed by Gabriele Muccino, is a moving story about fatherhood, poverty, and preserving childhood ...
Movie Review: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
If The Pursuit of Happyness can't get you off of your fat, sweaty ass, you're hopeless. And do the rest of us a favor and shut the fuck up. Critical Movie Critic Rating: 5. Movie Review: Rocky Balboa (2006) Movie Review: Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (2006) Tagged: son, stock broker, true story.
The Pursuit of Happyness: Movie Review and Analysis
Published: Apr 8, 2022. In 'The Pursuit of Happyness' I believe Will Smith did an exceptional performance in his performing abilities. The movie exceeded the action and romantic films Will Smith is known for. He illustrated the position of Chris Gardner, trouble, struck down man dealing with the most upsetting time of his life.
(PDF) Movie Review of The Pursuit of Happyness
Reviews the film, The pursuit of happyness directed by Gabriele Muccino (2006). The portrayal of positive psychology in the movies is a fascinating new area that warrants further exploration.
Pursuit of Happyness, The
The Pursuit of Happyness is long, dull, and depressing. It expands into two hours a story that could have been told more effectively in one. This is not the feel-good movie of the season unless you believe that a few moments of good cheer can redeem 110 minutes of gloom. Sitting through The Pursuit of Happyness is a chore.
Best Underdog Movies That Aren't About Sports
Clever, charming, and driven by character, The Pursuit of Happyness follows down-on-his-luck salesman Chris Gardner who invests his entire life savings in a new product. When it doesn't sell, he ...
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Synopsis. In 1981, in San Francisco, the smart salesman and family man Chris Gardner ( Will Smith) invests the family savings in Osteo National bone-density scanners, an apparatus twice as expensive as an x-ray machine but with a slightly clearer image. This white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to his relationship ...
A.J. Jacobs' 6 favorite books that explore America's foundation
"The Pursuit of Happiness" by Jeffrey Rosen (2024) In an attempt to figure out what the Founders meant by a good life, Rosen does a deep dive into the books they read, ranging from Stoic ...
This baby is in the pursuit of happiness. Are South Korea's ...
The plaintiffs claim that the government is failing to provide constitutionally required protection of their fundamental rights. Namely: right to life, right to pursue happiness, right to general ...
Jerry Seinfeld Heckled At Virginia Comedy Show By Pro ...
Jerry Seinfeld 's Saturday night comedy show in Norfolk, Virginia was interrupted several times by at least one Pro-Palestinian protester. The incident was the second protest of a Seinfeld event ...
Book Review: 'Skies of Thunder,' by Caroline Alexander
If the guide seems to protest too much, perhaps that's because the C.B.I. was, as Caroline Alexander explains in her riveting new book, "Skies of Thunder," under-resourced, improvisational ...

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