“The Pursuit of Happyness”, during the first glance one will not be able to spot the

typographical error in the title, however once you took a second glance, the misspelled word
“happyness” will not only make you feel confused but it will also set a fire of curiosity on what
the movie is all about. The movie is an autobiographical drama that reveals how the main leads
overcame their problems in life. The movie took place in San Francisco, USA at 1981 where
capitalism at that time is booming which played a big role in the movie. It is said to be a true to
life movie that tackles the struggles of Chris Gardner starred by Will Smith and his son Christopher
Gardner which is starred by Jaden Smith. Moreover, the movie is also jampacked with other
prominent and famous stars that were also featured in the movie, such as Thandie Newton as Linda
Gardner the wife of Chris Gardner and the mother to his son Christopher, Brian Howe as Jay
Twistle the manager for the company that Chris Gardner wants to get into and many more. Overall,
if I were to give the movie a rating from 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, then the movie
is worth more than the 5-stars. For the reasons that the cast were undoubtedly amazing, the
cinematics were also very good for a movie that is supposed to make a setting at 1981 but is filmed
on 2006 and just how flawless the story was told.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” is a tear-jerking movie that will not only move our hearts but
will also inspire us to strive harder and be the better version of ourselves. It is a movie about reality,
the reality which most of us fears. The actors were brilliant and amazing, for they were able to pull
off those raw emotions that the movie needed to portray. The storyline is also worth mentioning,
because it had built up different emotions as the story of Chris Gardner escalated in the movie.
Furthermore, the movie was capable to open the eyes, minds and hearts of the viewers to the
different life lessons that they were aiming to share. Lessons, that we should treasure and learn
from.

The movie is a real-life story about Chris Gardner, a salesman who have invested their life
saving in a product called “bone density scanner”. Every day, he must sell his products in hospitals
which did not always go well. A lot of times, doctors are calling the device an unnecessary luxury
which leaves him a ton of product. Due to that, he and his family had struggled a lot financially,
and sooner her wife left him. However, He had always been a good father; thus, he and his wife
had an agreement that he can take care of their son, Christopher. From this on, more problems and
struggles had risen. They had been kicked out of their apartment while he is trying everything to
sell the devices that he still has. Then he had came across a company that specializes in
stockbrokerage, thus he continues living with his son with the goal of becoming an intern and a
permanent employee of that company. He wanted to start anew, for his son, so he decided that he
wanted to be a stockbroker. From then on, he has to endure and sacrifice a lot of things in order to
give his son a better life.

Everyday, as he took his son to a local daycare. He had always questioned the writings on
the wall of his child’s day care, which states “Happyness”. A misspelled word of happiness. Then
after taking his son, he needs to proceed with his day. Which is selling his “bone density scanner”,
in order to make a living. He had searched through different hospitals however, things escalated
quickly, and he did not sell any for the day. After getting home, the tension between him and his
wife is noticeable, specially, his wife’s frustration on their family’s current financial situation. Fast
forward, his wife left them for work in New York, meanwhile he and Christopher are getting
kicked out from their apartment and had been given time to stay for at least one week. During
those periods, he had been given the chance to be interviewed at the stock brokerage company.
However, a night before his interview, he had spent the night in prison due to unpaid parking
tickets. He almost did not made it in time, but he did. They had interviewed him while he was
wearing casual clothing that is covered in paint, but that did not stopped him. In the end, he left
the interview with a good impression on the interviewers. Moreover, they are once again kicked
out by the motel that they are staying in, this is the part when he felt that everything is falling apart.
They had to sleep in the subways comfort room, and even though he felt so hopeless in their current
situation, he had to stay strong for his son Christopher. And so he endured all the arising emotions
that is making him feel hopeless and made ways to compromise to their current situation. His
internship to the company is for 6 months long, without any salary and without the assurance of
getting in the company. And with no more “bone density scanners” to sell, they had no source of
income. That is why they had to wait in line 5 pm every day to a church free housing program, in
order to get by. And without a house, he had to work double during his internship so that he can
keep up with the pace of his peers that were able to spend more time during the internship. During
the day, he will work diligently in the stock brokerage company, while during the night, he will
need to take care of his son and review for the upcoming exams for his internship. One day, while
they were in a park, he saw the man who took one of his “bone density scanners” and thought of
it as a time machine. With that, he got his last device and decided to sell it once again into a
hospital. And while he was trying to demonstrate, the device did not function well. It was broken.
And so, he tried everything in order to fix it, and he did. With the money that he had sold his device
with. He decided that it is time for his and his son to enjoy a day without thinking any of the
problems. He had collected his thoughts during that day and became even more eager to give
Christopher a better future. For life is filled with uncertainty, and he wanted to remove some of
the uncertainty’s not only for him, but especially for his son.

This movie had brought and gave me tears. After watching this movie, I came to realize
how lucky I am that I have a roof over my head and that me and my family is sheltered properly.
It made me appreciate our situation more. Happiness is indeed all about the little things, one does
not need something extravagant to become happy. Because all we need to learn is to appreciate,
and once we learn how to appreciate everything, from small things to bigger things, then we will
be able to enjoy the feeling of being happy. The film was a top notched movie that is recommended
for any people of ages, colors and genders. Because it was about the reality of life, and I believe
that the movie is meant for everyone. For even though we have different situations and realities in
life, somehow even a little bit, there would be a spark of connection that will lead us to relate into
the movie. The movie is indeed well thought of. It will teach us a lot of life lessons that we could
keep in both in our heart and mind. The movie had also given us some striking lines that will make
us more related into the movie. Such striking lines were; “This part of my life... this part right
here? This part is called "being stupid."” And indeed that we all have had this phase in life where
we had done something stupid, either it is a decision or what. However, the stupid things that we
made are also the ones who made us on who we are today. These stupid things made us grow. Life
may be tough at times it may give us struggles that may make us give things up, that all we want
to do is to run from all our problems. “This part of my life, it is called running.” However, instead
of running faraway from those problems, we should run towards the problem and face it bravely.
For these problems are the ones who will make us stronger once we get passed through it. Like
life, some of the people around us does not make things easy, some may or may not drag us down
instead of uplifting each other up. “Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something”,
“You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can't do something themselves; they want to tell
you; you can't do it. If you want something, go get it.”, no matter how things may seem impossible,
if you have a dream, then dream and work for it. As long as you are not stepping on anyone, it is
okay to pursue your dreams. Strive harder and prove them that you can. And alas, “This part of
my life... this part right here? This is called "happyness."” No matter how hard life is, we still get
to have the feeling of happiness. For our happiness is different for each and everyone of us. And
in some points of our lives, we can proudly say that we have been genuinely happy.
Movie Review: “The Pursuit of Happyness”

(Will Smith and Jaden Smith)

Submitted by:

Valencia, Hazel May A.

BS- ARCHITECTURE