We're constantly told how desperately Chris loves Christopher, but it takes a long time before we begin to buy it. Although they are played by a real-life father and son, there's no chemistry between them. It's tough to connect with Chris and his son. 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. However, the lack of a strong conflict makes the two-hour running length seem very long.
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS SONG IN MOVIES MOVIE
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. 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. Despite having no experience, Chris applies to enter an internship program at Dean Witter. But there's a bright spot, although you need a dark-adapted eye to find it. He gets to spend a night in the cleanest public restroom in the history of public restrooms. He goes to jail, neither passing GO nor collecting a much-needed $200. That's when Chris' life turns into a country song. 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).
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS SONG IN MOVIES PORTABLE
It's 1981 San Francisco and his self-employed business of selling portable bone density scanners isn't doing well. 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.Ĭhris Gardner (Will Smith) is down on his luck. Newton spends about 90% of her screen time doing an impersonation of a harpy: screeching, bitching, and contorting her face into unpleasant expressions. Meanwhile, his female co-star, Thandie Newton, isn't going to be considered for any award. 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. (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. 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. How is it that movies "inspired by a real story" often feel more fake than those fully embedded in the realm of fiction?
Downbeat movies aren't inherently bad (in fact, many are powerful), but this one provides artificial characters in contrived circumstances. Sitting through The Pursuit of Happyness is a chore. 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. It expands into two hours a story that could have been told more effectively in one. The Pursuit of Happyness is long, dull, and depressing. They do, but if the journey matters more than the destination, this is a movie to skip. With a title like The Pursuit of Happyness, you expect the characters to get to the promised land.
0 kommentar(er)
