The Pursuit of Happyness
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, James Karen
I don't think I've seen a mainstream movie get fatherhood so right since "Kramer vs . Kramer": the fear, the indulgence, the snappishness, the pre-occupied "uh-huhs" as a child natters about his day, the steamrolling waves of love.
My sentimentality meter never went off, and Smith proved what people have forgotten since his breakthroughs in "Where the Day Takes You" and "Six Degrees of Separation" 13 years ago: He's a serious actor.
It's a beautiful and understated performance, one that hums with a richer, quieter music than Smith has mustered before.
Smith wins our hearts without losing his dignity, as Chris suits up for success by day and fights off despair by night. The role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it. He's the real deal.
Will Smith has the right quality for the role -- he's an easy man to root for -- but he augments this by channeling some inner quality of desperation and need.
Top Box Office Films
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (2007)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Awards (2007)
Best Actor
BET Awards (2007)
Best Actor
Black Reel Awards (2007)
Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2007)
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