The Pursuit of Happyness

Happyness is based on a true story about that all-American goal: to become rich. Filthy rich. Or, rather, rich instead of filthy. Will Smith portrays Chris Gardner, a struggling medical supplies salesman in San Francisco. His wife (the excellent Thandie Newton) is working double shifts, their son languishes in cheapo daycare, and they still can't pay the bills.

Inspired by the happy faces streaming out of the financial district, Gardner, a math whiz, decides to apply for a yearlong Dean Witter internship that eventually rewards only one of the 20 interns an actual job.

The twist? The internship is unpaid. Disgusted, his wife leaves the family, and life only gets worse. By day, Gardner walks into work in a neat suit and tie; at night, he and his son Christopher (adorable Smith progeny Jaden) sleep at a homeless shelter.

Writer Steve Conrad and director Gabriele Muccino milk the pathos for all it's worth, making Smith literally run for his life—run to the shelter before the admittance cutoff, run away from angry landlords, run to a business appointment. Get it? Pursuit?

But we rarely see what Gardner is running for—i.e., that job at Dean Witter. Every rags-to-riches story needs those moments where the character realizes he or she can really do it, and these turning points—for example, when Gardner starts signing clients, or aces the class material—are glossed over as afterthoughts instead of sweet, small victories.

As it is, Happyness leans dangerously close to becoming a message movie about homelessness. Had we seen an intimate glimpse into the professional side of Gardner's journey, this likeable but unexceptional fable could have been so much more.