Preview

A Pursuit of Happiness a Movie Review

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
867 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Pursuit of Happiness a Movie Review
The Pursuit of Happiness: A Movie Review The Pursuit of Happiness is a movie about a struggling salesperson who takes custody of his son, as he is ready to begin a life-changing experience. The movie stars Will Smith, with co-stars Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, Kurt Fuller, and James Karen, among many others. Will Smith, who plays Chris Gardner, is a great man deep down and just wants to do right, but everything just seems to be falling apart at the same time. Chris causes financial difficulties for his family by losing his current job and then has troubles with his relationship with his wife that leaves him and moves to New York. Without money and wife, Chris is totally committed to his son Christopher.
Will Smith portrays Chris Gardner, a character who has strong wisdom as a single father and desperately wants to do right without complaints and his only hope is drifting away when everything meaningful falls apart at the same time leaving Chris bruised and battered. Financial problems, eviction, job loss, and relationship devastation with his wife left no financial support forcing him and his son to move to New York struggling relentlessly. Fighting for a stockbroker job while homeless, the competition continues against twenty other potential candidates despite a multitude of difficulties including being arrested and broke. Chris never gives up with his son during this time. Chris accepts a permanent job as a stockbroker after his training is over and becomes very emotional. Knowing they will be ok, Chris tells his son that he got a new job and that everything will be ok now and they will live a better life now. Chris can lift the financial burden off his shoulders, start over, and move forward. Regardless of the challenges faced or the last dollar he had, Chris faced every day with potential strength and courage. Casting of this film was outstanding thanks to Will Smith who brought Chris Gardner’s character to life as a struggling individual

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Antwon Fisher

    • 1837 Words
    • 8 Pages

    will act as his therapist. The film is a true story about a man going through numerous…

    • 1837 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chris gives up all of his luxuries in life such as his home, car, family life, college education, and money to accomplish a sense of what he firmly believes will bring him happiness. He goes through extreme measures, all to fulfill his dream, only to realize that “Happiness only real when shared,”(Krakauer 189). Chris realizes towards the end of his life that he has no one to share his eye-opening experiences with.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Franks once said, “Hope, as it pertains to love, is a good thing because by hoping for certain things such as an extended future with the one you love is made possible.” In the movie “Life Is Beautiful," Guido is an Italian Jew who is married to a gentile named Dora. He protected his son during the war by making him believe that they playing a game while in the concentration camp. He did this to keep the harsh reality unknown to his son, Giosue. The book Maus’ main character is Vladek, a Polish Jew who went through ghettos and concentration camp while doing his best to protect his wife, Anja, and their son, Richeu. He strived to give his family the best that he can get since the persecutions are overwhelming everyone. Both stories are warfare related, and…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    By making him a relatable character, almost everyone could see parts of themselves in Gardner, whether it was his struggle, his drive, or the environment. If the movie would have included all of the abuse that Gardner experienced, his character would have been too narrow. This, in turn, would have made his character not as relatable as before. However, not letting any of the abuse deter Gardner from his dream of traveling the world or making a million dollars was what helped him survive. Another factor that pushed him to achieve success was his son, Chris Jr. He vowed to always be present in his children’s lives and to not abuse or harm them (Gardner and Troupe 38). Although Gardner may have changed his path, the end goal was always the same; this is why he was able to survive and become a productive…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    whom she called John and Mary. The story itself is very different from most of other…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “A license to be Happy” Nicholas Roes believes that there is hope for addicts to live a happier life after many years of substance abuse. He admits that “More and more research is supporting the idea that people can learn to be happy.”(41) Roes acknowledges that if clients can focus on more of the positive things that brings out the outcome of happiness, the client will achieve their goal of being happy. He agrees that his clients have the power to control their own life once they understand the true meaning of happiness.…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The film incorporates a variety of auditory, visual and language techniques to reveal challenges and his discovery of his need for other people. A sense of non-belonging with his parents at the beginning of the film where Chris is…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although, the book “American Film and Society Since 1945” gives detailed explanations of films from the 1940’s; I find it difficult to understand the interpretations. For example, it is comparable to attempting to write a book report; without having read the book. Without the experience of actually watching the films mentioned in our required text; I feel lost in the translation of films that are considered iconic in American Culture. However, after doing some research, I do have opinions that seem valid.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Pursuit of Happyness stars Will Smith as Chris Gardner and shows his struggle as a single father facing homelessness yet striving to create a better life for his family. While it could be described as a Black man’s struggle, the movie manages to leave that as a secondary factor rather than the main source of conflict. Both the generosity and the discrimination he experiences at the hands of whites around him are portrayed, as well as, the reality that poverty has no color boundaries. People of all ethnicities are shown in impoverished scenes: in homeless shelters and food kitchens. His cultural interaction includes Asian Americans as well and depicts the cultural misunderstandings and language barriers experienced between them.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "In this film the transcendentalist belief of non-conformity is shown by the main character, Chris Gardner when he overcomes various obstacles in order to end the struggle both him and his son must endure. Throughout the whole film Chris maintains a positive attitude and his passion to move on and triumph in many of life's obstacles in order to climb the…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through the execution of dialogue, family values are portrayed, gaining different responses from the audience. In the Pursuit of happiness, Gardner seeks a mutual bond with his son, Christopher, and exerts to make sure his son knows he will always be loyal to him. Gardner ensures his son he is loyal in securing him when he says “You gotta trust me, alright?”…

    • 1043 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This film is an emotional journey that portrays a man carrying a very large burden and the actions he takes to lift that burden. The protagonist Tim, acted by Will smith, embarked on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers. Viewers were not given too much information about the film; it was quite ambiguous and puzzling and intended to slowly reveal the plot through subtle hints. Only very few sharp individuals would figure it out sooner but many, including me, did not.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Everyone experiences hard times in their lives. Good will Hunting is a film about a teenage boy named Will Hunting who has no family. His parents died when he was young and he as been alone ever since. Will has a very strong ability, but nobody knows what it is or even that he has it. The ability to face hardships is an essential human quality because everybody has to face them in life.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    You will have to forgive me because I cannot speak German, nor can I spell it, therefore this response will be particularly informal. That said, I rented the movie, watched it, watched the deleted scenes, and I confess, I watched the Director’s Interview. I could not help myself. I must give credit where credit is due so I will site any ideas that I took from Florian Henckel Von Donnersmark.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, A Brave New World, the author Aldous Huxley creates a world where the people are ignorant of the truth, and are, therefore, in a state of bliss that they mistake as happiness. The people in the World State are in a world where they don't know what true happiness is. The way they have lived their lives has blocked out real happiness. Through conditioning and drugging the government has kept the people of the World State ignorant to the truth. The people in the World State believe they are happy when really they are in an ignorant bliss.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays