To start with, the moment I saw the posters of the movie, I noticed something strange!
Why is the *spelling of the Word mis-spelled. Is it intentional?
With Will Smith in the cast & the tag line of the film which said that its based on a true story were enough reasons for me to check out the movie.
’The Pursuit of Happyness’ is a truly insipring Rags to Riches story revolving around the life of Chris Gardner(Will Smith) & his struggle with Life to make ends meet. His marriage with Linda is in tatters due to his inherent financial situation. The only thing holding their marriage together is their five yr old son, Christopher.
Chris has invested all his money in buying expensive bone-density scanners, & is now struggling to sell them off, to make his living out of it. He is even unable to protect them from being stolen when he is out selling them. He has faltered in paying up his house rents, loses his car owing to huge parking fines. He ends up losing his wife as she leaves him tired of the drugdgery of being with Chris.
He finds a silver lining in the dark cloud when he sees an all smiling stock broker coming out of a ferrari in front of the Dean Witter stock brokerage firm.
Inspired by him, he tries to find out more information about what stock brokerage is all about. He knows that it would be difficult for a not-so-highly educated guy like him to make it big, but still hopes that he ll make it one day finally.
What appeals to the audiences is the zeal shown by Chris’s character to become successful in Life though he finds himself in a hopeless situation. It teaches one never to lose heart even in the worsest situation ever in one’s life.
The movie potrays the father-son relationship in a touchy manner. The son loves his father inspite of the fact that he is unable to give him even a nice shelter place to live in. The duo are forced to leave their apartment & live in daycare homes.
The movie is all about how Chris emerges out of his pathetic situation & the challenges which he faces.
The screenplay is a wholesome win & must say the director Gabriele Muccino knows his job & is the best in business. The scenes especially when Will Smith convinces the stock broker for an internship at Dean Witters by solving the cube puzzle & manages to convince the interview panel though he is forced to turn up in a painter’s attire, to get into the internship is truly a masterpiece enacted by Will Smith.
One more memorable scene where Will has excelled is when he hears that his bank account has been debited automatically for paying up his over due taxes.
And then finally, the mis-spelling act where Will complains about a board sign which has mis-spelled the word Happiness - Hence the mis-spell in the Title.
The final verdict is that my take on the film is that atleast a few souls who ve watched this film will take courage to face the downsides of one’s life & will keep their hopes alive & will bring upon realization that their due success will come through after all the hardship they go through if one has a right attitude towards LIFE.
The message is clear. Never Give Up.