I got a chance the other day to see this much acclaimed movie starring Will Smith and his little son.Based on the true story of Chris Gardener who went from being homeless,penniless struggling lower middle class individual to being a celebrated stock broker millionaire,this is an exceptional story of determination and courage against heartless odds.
You might ask,what's so special about this movie?After all,doesn't Hollywood keep churning out these 'feel good' movies by the dozen.Well...the pursuit of happyness is unique in the sense it expertly balances the fine line between poignancy and complete despair.Set in San Francisco of the early eighties,the movie is the life changing story of Chris Gardener who sells arcane bone density scanners for a living.He needs to sell at least two a month to keep paying his bills and feed his family but its been a while since he sold even one.
In the tragic turmoil to make the ends meet,Chris's wife leaves him and as matters just keep getting worse,by a quirk of fate he meets a stockbroker.Now Chris is good with numbers and people and uses his talent to get an internship at the prestigious De Witter stock brokerage firm. But the job doesn't pay for the duration of the internship.At the end of the six months,the firm selects one guy from the group of 20 for a permanent job. Chris stumbles through these six months going from home to hotel to a homeless shelter.But what keeps him going is his dream.As he says to his son "If you have a dream,you gotta protect it" and "if you want something then go get it, period".
Its the quintessential American Dream and Chris often poignantly wonders that when the men who wrote the declaration of independence put that line about 'pursuit of happiness' they only guarnteed the pursuit part of it not neccessarily the end.
Although,you know its all going to work out in the end,its the 'pursuit' that is fascinating.Chris overcomes staggering odds to make it to the top.In his journey to the top of the mountain,Chris shares his positive vision towards life with his son.Years ago,he had experienced growing up without a father.He had promised himself that when he had children they would know who their father was and he lives up to that promise in a fascinating way.
The pursuit of happyness is an immensely inspiring,rewarding movie which showers you with an insane positivity towards life and sure we all need a dose of that from time to time.Now if you are wondering why I've always spelled happyness with a 'y' then you need to watch this movie!.
You might ask,what's so special about this movie?After all,doesn't Hollywood keep churning out these 'feel good' movies by the dozen.Well...the pursuit of happyness is unique in the sense it expertly balances the fine line between poignancy and complete despair.Set in San Francisco of the early eighties,the movie is the life changing story of Chris Gardener who sells arcane bone density scanners for a living.He needs to sell at least two a month to keep paying his bills and feed his family but its been a while since he sold even one.
In the tragic turmoil to make the ends meet,Chris's wife leaves him and as matters just keep getting worse,by a quirk of fate he meets a stockbroker.Now Chris is good with numbers and people and uses his talent to get an internship at the prestigious De Witter stock brokerage firm. But the job doesn't pay for the duration of the internship.At the end of the six months,the firm selects one guy from the group of 20 for a permanent job. Chris stumbles through these six months going from home to hotel to a homeless shelter.But what keeps him going is his dream.As he says to his son "If you have a dream,you gotta protect it" and "if you want something then go get it, period".
Its the quintessential American Dream and Chris often poignantly wonders that when the men who wrote the declaration of independence put that line about 'pursuit of happiness' they only guarnteed the pursuit part of it not neccessarily the end.
Although,you know its all going to work out in the end,its the 'pursuit' that is fascinating.Chris overcomes staggering odds to make it to the top.In his journey to the top of the mountain,Chris shares his positive vision towards life with his son.Years ago,he had experienced growing up without a father.He had promised himself that when he had children they would know who their father was and he lives up to that promise in a fascinating way.
The pursuit of happyness is an immensely inspiring,rewarding movie which showers you with an insane positivity towards life and sure we all need a dose of that from time to time.Now if you are wondering why I've always spelled happyness with a 'y' then you need to watch this movie!.
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