The Pursuit of Happyness
Encyclopedia
Varèse Sarabande
released the soundtrack on January 9, 2007, which included sixteen tracks.
box office, earning $27 million during its opening weekend and beating out heavily promoted films such as Eragon
and Charlotte's Web
. It was Will Smith's sixth consecutive #1 opening and one of Smith's consecutive $100 million blockbusters.. The film grossed $162,586,036 domestically in the US and Canada,
In the hope Gardner's story would inspire the down-trodden citizens of Chattanooga, Tennessee
to achieve financial independence and to take greater responsibility for the welfare of their families, the mayor of Chattanooga organized a viewing of the film for the city's homeless. Gardner himself felt that it was imperative to share his story for the sake of its widespread social issues. "When I talk about alcoholism in the household, domestic violence, child abuse, illiteracy, and all of those issues—those are universal issues; those are not just confined to ZIP code
s," he said.
on March 27, 2007 and as of November 2007, US Region 1 DVD sales accounted for an additional $89,923,088 in revenue, slightly less than half of which was earned in its first week of release. About 5,570,577 units have been sold, bringing in $90,582,602 in revenue.
calculated a 66% overall approval based on 166 reviews, and it scored an 66% Top Critics rating from major news outlets.
In the San Francisco Chronicle
, Mick LaSalle
observed, "The great surprise of the picture is that it's not corny . . . The beauty of the film is its honesty. In its outlines, it's nothing like the usual success story depicted on-screen, in which, after a reasonable interval of disappointment, success arrives wrapped in a ribbon and a bow. Instead, this success story follows the pattern most common in life — it chronicles a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats, missed opportunities, sure things that didn't quite happen, all of which are accompanied by a concomitant accretion of barely perceptible victories that gradually amount to something. In other words, it all feels real."
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times
called the film "a fairy tale
in realist
drag
. . . the kind of entertainment that goes down smoothly until it gets stuck in your craw
. . . It's the same old bootstraps story, an American dream artfully told, skillfully sold. To that calculated end, the film making is seamless, unadorned, transparent, the better to serve Mr. Smith's warm expressiveness . . . How you respond to this man's moving story may depend on whether you find Mr. Smith's and his son's performances so overwhelmingly winning that you buy the idea that poverty is a function of bad luck and bad choices, and success the result of heroic toil and dreams."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
awarded the film three out of a possible four stars and commented, "Will Smith is on the march toward Oscar . . . [His] role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it. He's the real deal."
In Variety
, Brian Lowry said the film "is more inspirational than creatively inspired—imbued with the kind of uplifting, afterschool-special qualities that can trigger a major toothache . . . Smith's heartfelt performance is easy to admire. But the movie's painfully earnest tone should skew its appeal to the portion of the audience that, admittedly, has catapulted many cloying TV movies into hits . . . In the final accounting, [it] winds up being a little like the determined salesman Mr. Gardner himself: easy to root for, certainly, but not that much fun to spend time with."
Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times
stated, "Dramatically it lacks the layering of a Kramer vs. Kramer
, which it superficially resembles . . . Though the subject matter is serious, the film itself is rather slight, and it relies on the actor to give it any energy. Even in a more modest register, Smith is a very appealing leading man, and he makes Gardner's plight compelling . . . The Pursuit of Happiness is an unexceptional film with exceptional performances . . . There are worse ways to spend the holidays, and, at the least, it will likely make you appreciate your own circumstances."
In the St. Petersburg Times
, Steve Persall graded the film B- and added, "[It] is the obligatory feel-good drama of the holiday season and takes that responsibility a bit too seriously . . . the film lays so many obstacles and solutions before its resilient hero that the volume of sentimentality and coincidence makes it feel suspect . . . Neither Conrad's script nor Muccino's redundant direction shows [what] lifted the real-life Chris above better educated and more experienced candidates, but it comes through in the earnest performances of the two Smiths. Father Will seldom comes across this mature on screen; at the finale, he achieves a measure of Oscar-worthy emotion. Little Jaden is a chip off the old block, uncommonly at ease before the cameras. Their real-life bond is an inestimable asset to the on-screen characters' relationship, although Conrad never really tests it with any conflict."
National Review Online has named the film #7 in its list of 'The Best Conservative Movies'. Linda Chavez
of the Center for Equal Opportunity
wrote, "this film provides the perfect antidote to Wall Street and other Hollywood diatribes depicting the world of finance as filled with nothing but greed."
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
released the soundtrack on January 9, 2007, which included sixteen tracks.
Box office
The film debuted first at the North AmericanNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
box office, earning $27 million during its opening weekend and beating out heavily promoted films such as Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
and Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web (2006 film)
Charlotte's Web is a 2006 American live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E. B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The K Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies...
. It was Will Smith's sixth consecutive #1 opening and one of Smith's consecutive $100 million blockbusters.. The film grossed $162,586,036 domestically in the US and Canada,
In the hope Gardner's story would inspire the down-trodden citizens of Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
to achieve financial independence and to take greater responsibility for the welfare of their families, the mayor of Chattanooga organized a viewing of the film for the city's homeless. Gardner himself felt that it was imperative to share his story for the sake of its widespread social issues. "When I talk about alcoholism in the household, domestic violence, child abuse, illiteracy, and all of those issues—those are universal issues; those are not just confined to ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s," he said.
Home Media
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on March 27, 2007 and as of November 2007, US Region 1 DVD sales accounted for an additional $89,923,088 in revenue, slightly less than half of which was earned in its first week of release. About 5,570,577 units have been sold, bringing in $90,582,602 in revenue.
Critical response
The film received generally positive reviews by critics. Film review site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
calculated a 66% overall approval based on 166 reviews, and it scored an 66% Top Critics rating from major news outlets.
In the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
observed, "The great surprise of the picture is that it's not corny . . . The beauty of the film is its honesty. In its outlines, it's nothing like the usual success story depicted on-screen, in which, after a reasonable interval of disappointment, success arrives wrapped in a ribbon and a bow. Instead, this success story follows the pattern most common in life — it chronicles a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats, missed opportunities, sure things that didn't quite happen, all of which are accompanied by a concomitant accretion of barely perceptible victories that gradually amount to something. In other words, it all feels real."
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "a fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
in realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
. . . the kind of entertainment that goes down smoothly until it gets stuck in your craw
Crop (anatomy)
A crop is a thin-walled expanded portion of the alimentary tract used for the storage of food prior to digestion that is found in many animals, including gastropods, earthworms, leeches, insects, birds, and even some dinosaurs.- Bees :Cropping is used by bees to temporarily store nectar of flowers...
. . . It's the same old bootstraps story, an American dream artfully told, skillfully sold. To that calculated end, the film making is seamless, unadorned, transparent, the better to serve Mr. Smith's warm expressiveness . . . How you respond to this man's moving story may depend on whether you find Mr. Smith's and his son's performances so overwhelmingly winning that you buy the idea that poverty is a function of bad luck and bad choices, and success the result of heroic toil and dreams."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
awarded the film three out of a possible four stars and commented, "Will Smith is on the march toward Oscar . . . [His] role needs gravity, smarts, charm, humor and a soul that's not synthetic. Smith brings it. He's the real deal."
In Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, Brian Lowry said the film "is more inspirational than creatively inspired—imbued with the kind of uplifting, afterschool-special qualities that can trigger a major toothache . . . Smith's heartfelt performance is easy to admire. But the movie's painfully earnest tone should skew its appeal to the portion of the audience that, admittedly, has catapulted many cloying TV movies into hits . . . In the final accounting, [it] winds up being a little like the determined salesman Mr. Gardner himself: easy to root for, certainly, but not that much fun to spend time with."
Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
stated, "Dramatically it lacks the layering of a Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son...
, which it superficially resembles . . . Though the subject matter is serious, the film itself is rather slight, and it relies on the actor to give it any energy. Even in a more modest register, Smith is a very appealing leading man, and he makes Gardner's plight compelling . . . The Pursuit of Happiness is an unexceptional film with exceptional performances . . . There are worse ways to spend the holidays, and, at the least, it will likely make you appreciate your own circumstances."
In the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, Steve Persall graded the film B- and added, "[It] is the obligatory feel-good drama of the holiday season and takes that responsibility a bit too seriously . . . the film lays so many obstacles and solutions before its resilient hero that the volume of sentimentality and coincidence makes it feel suspect . . . Neither Conrad's script nor Muccino's redundant direction shows [what] lifted the real-life Chris above better educated and more experienced candidates, but it comes through in the earnest performances of the two Smiths. Father Will seldom comes across this mature on screen; at the finale, he achieves a measure of Oscar-worthy emotion. Little Jaden is a chip off the old block, uncommonly at ease before the cameras. Their real-life bond is an inestimable asset to the on-screen characters' relationship, although Conrad never really tests it with any conflict."
National Review Online has named the film #7 in its list of 'The Best Conservative Movies'. Linda Chavez
Linda Chavez
Linda Chavez is an American author, commentator, and radio talk show host. She is also a Fox News analyst, Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, has a syndicated column that appears in newspapers nationwide each week, and sits on the Board of Directors of two Fortune 1000 companies:...
of the Center for Equal Opportunity
Center for Equal Opportunity
The Center For Equal Opportunity is a conservative think tank, which focuses on three specific areas of concern: affirmative action, immigration and bilingual education....
wrote, "this film provides the perfect antidote to Wall Street and other Hollywood diatribes depicting the world of finance as filled with nothing but greed."
Accolades
- Academy Award for Best ActorAcademy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Will Smith, nominee) - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture DramaGolden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture DramaThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
(Will Smith, nominee) - Golden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original SongGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
("A Father's Way," words and music by Seal, nominee) - Black Reel AwardBlack Reel AwardsThe Black Reel Awards began in 2000 and were designed to annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films...
for Best Film (nominee) - Black Reel Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Will Smith, nominee)
- Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performer (Jaden Smith, nominee)
- NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion PictureNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion PictureThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Motion Picture:-Most Wins:-Most Nominations:...
(winner) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion PictureNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion PictureThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding African-American Actors in a Motion Picture:# of Performances that have won or been nominated for an Academy Award :*1. Louis Gossett Jr.- An Officer and a Gentleman...
(Will Smith, nominee) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture:Performers that earned or won Academy Award nominations:*1. Denzel Washington- Glory*2. Djimon Hounsou- In America*3. Morgan Freeman- Million Dollar Baby...
(Jaden Smith, nominee) - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:-Stats:Performances that earned Oscar nominations or wins* Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda* Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls [won Image Award]...
(Thandie Newton, nominee) - Screen Actors' Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture (Will Smith, nominee)
- MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance (Will Smith, nominee)
- MTV Movie Award for Best Male Breakthrough Performance (Jaden Smith, winner)
- Teen Choice AwardsTeen Choice AwardsThe Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
for Choice Movie: Breakout Male (Jaden Smith, winner) - Teen Choice AwardsTeen Choice AwardsThe Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
for Choice Movie: Chemistry (Jaden Smith and Will Smith, winner) - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActorThe Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...
(Will Smith, nominee) - BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Young ActorBFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Young PerformerThe Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Performer is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association...
(Jaden Smith, nominee) - BET Award for Best ActorBET AwardsThe BET Awards were established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year. The awards are presented annually and broadcast live on BET...
(Will Smith, nominee) - PFCS Award for Best Performance by Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role - MalePhoenix Film Critics SocietyThe Phoenix Film Critics Society is an organization of film reviewers from Phoenix-based publications.In December of each year, the PFCS meets to vote on their Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for films released in the same calendar year.Categories of awards include:* Best Actor The Phoenix...
(Jaden Smith, winner) - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for best actor (Will Smith, nominee)
- Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists for Best Score (Andrea Guerra, nominee)
- David di Donatello Awards for Best Foreign Language Movie (Gabriele Muccino, nominee)
- Capri Award for Movie of The Year (winner)