"The Pursuit of Happyness" **1/2 (out of four): Will Smith gives his best performance yet in the story of Chris Gardner, a true-life rags-to-riches story which somehow, unfortunately, feels made up.
I’m sure the story of Chris Gardner – a struggling salesman who put himself through a wildly competitive Dean Witter internship while supporting his 5 year-old son – is full of inspiration and hardship, but you’d hardly guess that from “The Pursuit of Happyness”, director Gabriele Muccino’s going-through-the-motions adaptation of Mr. Gardner’s life story. Maybe it’s because Will Smith is such a strong screen presence that you feel as though he can handle anything life throws at him, but somehow the film never achieves the stakes necessary to make this a rousing underdog story is wants to be. Still, Mr. Smith’s performance as Chris is nearly worth the price of admission.
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