Watching"ThePursuitofHappyness"tonightwasalmostareligiousexperience.Perhapsthatis"blasphemous"because,althoughreligiondoesplayasmallroleinthemovie,theoverallstoryisaboutthetriumphofamanagainstimmeasurableodds.

　　Oneofthereasonsformy"religious"feelingtowardsthefilmhastodowiththeaudiencethatfilledthetheaterforthe9:40P.M.showing.Foronething,theaudiencewasoneofthelargestIhadseeninanOdessa,Texastheaterinalongtime.Evenmoreimportantly,theaudiencewasdefinitelyoneofthemostraciallydiversegroupsIhaveeverseen.But,mostimportantofallwasthestraight-forwardtale"narrated"tousbythemaincharacterofthefilm,ChrisGardner.

　　Alltooofteninthisworld,wetakeforgrantedwhatwearegiven.Sometimes,weacceptdefeatwithbarelyawhimper.ButsomepeoplesuchasChrisGardnerwouldnotallowhimselfandhissontobedefeatedalthoughheliterallyhadnothingatonepointinhislife.GardnerinvokesthewordsandthethoughtsofThomasJeffersoninhisquestofhappinessthatwasmentionedinourDeclarationofIndependencepennedprimarilybyJefferson.Thefactthatthosewordswereevenincludedinthatdocumentareamazinginthemselves.Life,libertyandpropertyrightsaremorefrequentlythoughtofasinalienablerightsbuttheartistinJeffersonincludedtheconceptofpursuinghappiness.

　　THEPLOT

　　Ifyou'veseenthetrailersorreadanyofthereviews,youalreadyknowthatChrisGardnerisamandownonhisluck.Hehasawifethatworksdoubleshiftsasawaitressandasonwhohethinkstheworldofbutisbarelyabletosupport.Gardnerwasabandonedbyhisownfatheratthreeandhasvowedthathisownchildrenwillalwaysknowtheirfather.

　　But,Gardnerhassunkhislifesavingsina"bonedensity"machinethatisbarelymoreefficientthananx-raymachineandfarmoreexpensive.Hislifebecomesone"billcollector"nightmareaftertheothertothepointwherehiswifedecidestoleavehimandhisson.Afterhiswifeleaves,Gardner'slifegetsevenworseasheiskickedoutofhisapartment.

　　Bychanceoneday,Gardnerrunsintoaveryhappymanwithafancyredcarwhosaysheisastockbrokerforamajorfirm.Withnoformaltraining,butwithabrilliantmindandastrongwilltosucceed,Gardnergetsachance,albeitaverysmallchance,toworkfortheDeanWitterbrokeragefirm.Whileheisstudyingforthebrokertest,heandhissonarelivinginabjectpoverty.

　　WHATILOVEDABOUTTHEFILM

　　ChrisGardnerisportrayedtoperfectionbyWillSmithinwhatiscertainlyoneofthestrongestperformancesofhislife.Onlyhisactingin"Ali"comeclosetohisworkherealthoughhehashadanextremelysuccessfulcareer("IndependenceDay","MeninBlack","Wild,WildWest","Hitch").Here,Smithshowsboththestrengthandthecourageofamanwhoiswillingtofightagainstalloddsandhedoessowithout"overacting."WeseeGardnerlosehistemper,almostlosehislifebutnevergiveuponhisquestforhisandhisson'shappiness.

　　Gardner'sson,Christopher,isplayedbyWillSmith'srealson,JadenSmith,inhisfirstmotionpicturerole.YoungJadendoesafantasticjobastheyoungboywhocanlivethelifeofabjectpovertyandstillpraisehisfather.Thenaturalnessoftheportrayalisobviousineveryscenewhichspeaksvolumesforbothfatherandson'stalent.

　　This"naturalness"isalsotheresultoftheexcellentdirectingofGabrie