An Emotional Tale: Analysis of 'The Pursuit of Happyness' Movie

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the 2006 film 'The Pursuit of Happyness', starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith. It explores the movie's plot, which is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a homeless salesman struggling to provide for his son. The analysis delves into the film's themes of poverty, fatherhood, perseverance, and the pursuit of the American dream. It examines the characters, the emotional impact of the story, and the film's critical reception, including Will Smith's acclaimed performance. The report also offers an opinion on the film's strengths, including its portrayal of real-life struggles and the importance of the father-child relationship. The conclusion emphasizes the film's message of resilience and the importance of family in the face of adversity, highlighting its lasting impact on viewers and the importance of staying focused on goals. The movie's direction and performances are also discussed.

Heading: An Emotional Tale of Fatherhood, Poverty and Preservation of Innocence
Introduction:
The Pursuit of Happyness is an American Drama Film released in 2006 which stars Will
Smith playing the role of a homeless salesman named Chris Gardner. His son Jaden
Smith made his debut playing the role of Gardner’s son as Christopher Jr. The movie is
based on the top-selling memoir by same name from Gardner back in 2006 which
discussed his struggle of nearly one year of tiring struggle being a homeless person. The
movie title has an unfamiliar spelling as it came from a mural which writer saw outside a
daycare facility attended by his son. The movie was released by Columbia Pictures and
obtained a fair share of positive reviews as Will Smith’s performance in the movie was
highly regarded all across the world. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and an
Academy Award for Best Actor.
Speaking of Box Office, the movie did pretty well, earning a whopping $27 million on
the opening weekend. It was Will Smith’s one of the consecutive 100-million
blockbusters.
Summary of the Story:
The film starts with the year 1981 in San Francisco where a smart family man named
Chris Gardner has invested his savings in a state-of-the-art bone-density scanner which is
quite an expensive device as compared to a normal x-ray machine. This initiative breaks
his family and start bringing trouble for them as his wife Linda (Thandie Newton) goes
away to New York after leaving him and started working in a pizza parlor. Christopher
Jr. stays with Gardner as the couple understand that Chris can take better care of him.
With lack of monetary funds and a life partner, Chris still determined to make the ends
meet and make his son’s life better, tries his luck at a stockbroker firm for an internship

position of unpaid training being held for 6 months which can benefit his career in the
long run. During the tenure, Chris fights a whole avalanche of problems both
professionally and personally. His last $600 in his bank account also got wasted when
government took them for taxes. At one point, he had no choice but to stay in bathroom
of a subway station. He had to leave office early in order to reach the church so that he is
assured of a place to sleep. He even had to take his suitcase along with him at work since
he didn’t have a home. With all of these hardships and daily struggles, he had 19 other
applicants at work who were fighting for that one position.
He gets called into the office one day where all the upper management of the firm is
present. Chris assumes that this might be the time where he’ll be told that he’s not fit for
the job. But to his surprise, the seniors told him about his prolific performance over the
period of 6 months and that tomorrow he’ll have to come in again as it’s going to be his
first day as Broker. The tears begin to break the wall of Chris’ eyes but he holds them. He
leaves the building and starts crying as the busy people of the city walk past him. He ran
to his son at the daycare, hugs him tight knowing that the good times are finally coming
for them.
The last scene of the movie shows both father and son walking down the street where
Christopher Jr. is telling a joke and a well-suited business man passes by. Chris looks
back at him as the businessman keeps moving forward. That man was none other than the
actual Chris Gardner.
Analysis of the film:
This movie traces the fleeting ups and frightening downs of Chris Gardner. He’s a
salesman facing multiple odds in his life. The film portrays the emotions, sacrifices,
dreams, pressure and love of an ordinary man who is trying to make the ends meet for his
son and wife. Here, Thandie Newton played as Linda is his wife who loses the hope and

trust on her husband and leaves both his husband and son and goes New York for a job
because of their family situation.
Upon counseling his son, Chris has a very deep message to that “you got a dream, you
gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do.
If you want something, go get its” (The Pursuit of Happyness). There’s a scene in the
final third of the movie where Smith (Gardner) borrows $5 from his employer since he
had nothing left in his pocket portrays a significant element in the story that there are a
few times, when it’s worth giving up everything in order to achieve something bigger.
When Chris gets confirmed for the job role of Broker and he went outside the office, he
says that "This part of my life, this little part is called Happiness!" This is among the best
dialogues in the movie which can leave any viewer in tears. This movie will definitely
leave an everlasting impression in one’s mind.
Opinion:
There are many reasons people may like the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, and the
fact that it is based on a true story should never be neglected. In addition to a perfect cast
and crew, including Will Smith, Jaden Smith, and Thandie Newton, its director, Gabriele
Muccino, succeeded in discussing urgent topics and using adequate music background.
The struggle of Chris Gardner to survive in this world financially and emotionally is a
core theme in The Pursuit of Happyness that proves the correctness of choice to sit and
watch the movie.
The current world where we live in, a number of people are being challenged by different
problems and issues in their lives such as jobs, relationships, community issues, health
and family responsibilities. The Pursuit of Happyness isn’t a fiction movie where the
screenwriter made up such problems. it is in fact a true story of an entrepreneur who

survived. Its strength is not only to show how a man strives for his rights but an example
of how father-child relationships must be developed.
Conclusion:
In the race of struggling for rich wealthy life style and happiness, there are times when
we completely forget what it actually means to be a human being. The movie is not only
based on how we can achieve and succeed in our lives but also shed light on how we can
protect our families, stay focused on our goals and never give up. Chris Gardner
presented us a captivating story and it became watchable with the help of Director
Gabriele Muccino. This might be Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith’s best
performances till date.