THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

The key word I associate with this film is RESTRAINT.
THE RESTRAINT OF THE FILMMAKERS NOT TO OVER-DRAMATIZETHIS STORY, BUT TO JUST LET IT FLOW FORTH ON ITS OWN.
A family caught up in an extreme economic crisis. A good wife and mother, just taken to the breaking point by the distance between her expectations and the reality of her existence. Not a villain, but a victim.
A good father and husband, facing the fact that he is unable to provide / protect those he loves. A wonderful son, not knowing if he is responsible for the rift between his two loving parents, yet knowing that both love him. Love is never his issue.

Filmmakers with less talent, would have made every scene into high drama - but these artist, saw that this was not drama, this was life and life moves on, every second of every minute - life itself supplies the drama.
This is one of those rare films you don't want to miss or wait for the DVD. I recently attended the funeral of a childhood friend's mother in Gloucester, Virginia.
As I sat in the church and listened to a wonderful review of this lady's life and good deeds -- it became apparent that we were all sitting in this fine church and wasting our time.
This great lady had made her reservation for heaven, we were not needed there to help her reach that goal -- she did not need our support, as the pastor made so clear, her heavenly credentials were well established and certified.
We needed to get the hell up out of that ceremony and work on our own lives, she would do fine without us - I wonder how we are going to make it.
This film is a lot like that gentle woman, it does not need a lot of talk and hype, it can stand on its own merits.
********************************************************************
COMMENTS --> My son and I saw The Pursuit of Happyness yesterday. And as I sat watching life on the big screen, realizing that my son had selected this film to see, I wondered did he understand what was happening. I somehow believed he did, because he was watching me at the same time, and smiled.
This film is a wake up call in a sense, at least for Afro-American families and men in general. This is happening on a daily basis in our communities ( not the being rich part), but the struggle to keep our families together, to strengthen our bond with our son's, whatever the circumstance.

Above all, never, never giving up your dream and loving your mate. My son said after the film, "thank you dad."

ARNOLD HOOK - NASHVILLE / BROOKLYN
*****************************************************************
I saw Pursuit of Happyness this past weekend, too, and found it to be heartwarming, at times, sad, and overall, very enjoyable. I was joined by my daughter, a friend and her daughter and it was also a valuable experience in terms of demonstrating to them how difficult life can be and how blessed they are.
I've heard that it was the top-grossing movie of weekend and that Will Smith was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

DMDG -- CELEBRATION, FLORIDA / QUEENS
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My mom and I went to see The Pursuit of Happyness on Monday. It is an awesome story of tenacity. It certainly makes my doubts to achieve certain goals seem extremely weak and childish in comparison. I think what makes the lifestory great is that Will Smith completely bought in to the spirit of Chris Gardner.

ANDREA K-M --- LOUISIANNA AND NORTH CAROLINA