The Pursuit of Happyness - A Movie Review

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"The Pursuit of Happyness" is a biographical drama that was released in 2006. The screenplay was written by Steven Conrad and was based on a best-selling memoir of the same name by Chris Gardner with Quincy Troupe. Will Smith was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award in the Best Actor category. Box office receipts were $307.1 million against a $55 million budget. The spelling of "happyness" comes from a mural on a wall outside the daycare facility that Gardner's son attends. CAST Will Smith - Chris Gardner Jaden Smith - Christopher Gardner Thandie Newton - Linda Gardner Brian Howe - Jay Twistle Dan Castellaneta - Alan Frakesh James Karen - Martin Frohm Kurt Fuller - Walter Ribbon Takayo Fischer - Mrs. Chu It is 1981 in San Francisco. Chris Gardner, a salesman, has invested the family savings in Osteo National bone-density scanners. They are two times as expensive as an x-ray machine with only a slightly clearer image. Chris has a wife, Linda, and a son, Christopher, almost five years old. With the time between sales and increased financial demand, Linda is enraged at their situation in an already strained marriage. One day Chris shares a cab with Jay Twistle, a manager for Dean Witter Reynolds. Chris impresses him with the fact that he could solve a Rubik's Cube within the span of the taxi cab ride. Twistle exits the cab. Chris gets out and starts to run since he doesn't have enough money to pay for the ride. The driver chases him into a BART station; and Chris boards a train but loses one of his scanners in the process. His contact with Jay earns him a chance to be an intern stockbroker. The day before his interview he has to paint his apartment to postpone getting evicted for non-payment of rent. He is arrested for not paying parking tickets and must spend the night in jail. The next morning Chris makes his appointment in time; but he is in his painting clothes. He impresses the interviewers enough that he lands one of the twenty unpaid six-month internships. From these twenty interns, only one will be chosen for the paid position of stockbroker. The final straw for Linda is an unpaid position; so she tells Chris that she's going to move to New York; and she can't see herself as a single mom. It's decided that Christopher will stay with his father. As if matters weren't bad enough, the Internal Revenue Service garnishes $600 from Chris's bank account for unpaid income taxes. Now Chris is homeless because he can't afford to pay rent...and he has a son to take care of. If you want to see what happens, you will have to watch the movie...and this is one movie you don't want to miss. To see the hardships that Chris and his son had to endure will open your eyes. There is one night that they had to spend on the floor of a public bathroom because they had nowhere else to sleep. Every teenager with parental consent would benefit by seeing this movie. I give it my 100% recommendation. This movie is rated PG-13. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons (Will Smith)