The Pursuit Of Happyness tells a relatively simple story in a straightforward manner. And that is exactly why it works.

The aforementioned story is that of Chris Gardner, a smart man, married and with a son, who finds himself in a bad financial situation due to some ill advised business decisions. Gardner, looking to change his life, decides he will be a stock broker, a position for which he believes he has the necessary skills. Not being a college graduate and lacking any other markers to indicate his rightness for the job, Gardner will have to jump through a lot of hoops to prove his worth. These hoops include a non paid six months internship, which puts a great strain on Gardner’s finances, eventually forcing him and his son to seek help in a homeless shelter.

This kind of material generally is turned into overwrought tear fests. But here the filmmakers are smart enough to recognize the inherent power of the story. Instead of hitting the audience over the head with how hard Chris’ life is, and how amazing what he is doing is, they simply let the facts speak for themselves. There isn’t much fancy about the movie’s style, acting or writing. There is no need for fancy here.

Will Smith’s performance is essential to make this work. He always manages to express what Chris is feeling without saying a word. The acting is both subtle and expressive, a hard to achieve combination. Smith also has to portray Gardner as an extremely charming individual, which of course comes easily to him. He really was the perfect choice for the character, and the Oscar nomination was well deserved.

I doubt that The Pursuit Of Happyness will be many peoples favorite movie of the year. But I also don’t think that many people are going to dislike it. It’s just a good, emotional and inspirational story, told well. And quite often that is all you need when you go to the theater.