The Pursuit of Happyness
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- This article is about the film, for the phrase see Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; for the band see The Pursuit of Happiness.
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| The Pursuit of Happyness | |
|---|---|
 Promotional Poster for The Pursuit of Happyness |
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| Directed by | Gabriele Muccino |
| Produced by | Will Smith Steve Tisch Teddy Zee Todd Black Jason Blumenthal |
| Written by | Steven Conrad |
| Starring | Will Smith Dan Castellaneta Thandie Newton Kevin West Jaden Smith |
| Music by | Andrea Guerra |
| Cinematography | Phedon Papamichael |
| Editing by | Hughes Winborne |
| Release date(s) | December 15, 2006 [1] |
| Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 drama film starring Will Smith and his son Jaden. It is based on the true story of Christopher Gardner, a family man struggling to make ends meet. Despite his valiant attempts to help keep the family afloat, the mother (Thandie Newton) of his five-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) is buckling under the constant strain of financial pressure. No longer able to cope, she reluctantly decides to leave.
Chris, now a single father, continues to doggedly pursue a better-paying job using every sales skill he knows. He lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, and although there is no salary, he accepts, hopeful he will end the program with a job and a promising future. Without a financial cushion, Chris and his son are soon evicted from their apartment and forced to sleep in shelters, bus stations, bathrooms or wherever they can find refuge for the night. Chris finds the Food Program at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood and is befriended by the Reverend Cecil Williams who is impressed by the love that Chris shows for his son.
Despite his troubles, Chris continues to honor his commitment as a loving and caring father, using the affection and trust his son has placed in him as an impetus to overcome the obstacles he faces.
Thandie Newton and Dan Castellaneta also star in the film as Linda and Alan Frakesh respectively. Smith insisted that Italian Gabriele Muccino direct this movie because of Muccino's style in movies such as L'ultimo bacio and Ricordati di me.
The film uses real "street people" and real Glide church members and attendees are extras in some of the scenes featuring the church. The church choir and band, The Glide Ensemble and the John Turk Change Band, may also be in the film. The Glide Ensemble soloists and band are professional performers.
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[edit] Trivia
- The trailer shows a scene where Will Smith offers to solve a Rubik's Cube for a man at the financial company for which he is interning. The man tells him it is impossible, yet Smith solves it in mere seconds. This may be a reference to a scene in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where, during an interview with a representative from Princeton University, a teenage Will Smith solves a Rubik's Cube in seconds for the amazed representative.
- Speedcubing champions Tyson Mao and Toby Mao were hired as consultants to teach Will Smith how to solve a Rubik's Cube in two minutes.
[edit] Awards/Nominations
- Broadcast Film Critics Association
- Best Actor (Will Smith)- Nomination
- Best Younger Actor (Jaden Smith)- Nomination
[edit] Notes
The word "Happyness" in the title has been taken from the misspelling of "Fun Joy Happyness" on a mural children have painted on the Chinatown daycare center where Chris Gardner takes his son, Christopher. When Chris points out the mistake, Mrs. Chu replies that it is not important to the pre-schoolers how the word is spelled, only that they have happiness. This leads Chris to contemplate the inclusion of the concept of the individual's right to "pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence, and how to pursue a happier, more emotionally secure childhood for his son, than his own had been.
