The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 drama movie directed by Gabriele Muccino, with a running time of 1h 57m. It stars Will Smith, Jaden Smith and Thandiwe Newton.
Chris Gardner has bet everything on a medical device nobody wants to buy, and the money has run out. When his marriage collapses, he keeps custody of his five-year-old son and takes an unpaid stockbroker internship, competing for a single job while the two of them slip into homelessness across 1980s San Francisco. Gabriele Muccino's biographical drama follows Gardner through crowded shelters, subway bathrooms and long odds, holding onto dignity and his boy. Will Smith plays Gardner with worn-down warmth, opposite his real son Jaden, in a true story about work, fatherhood and refusing to quit.
Quick answers
What is The Pursuit of Happyness about?
Chris Gardner has bet everything on a medical device nobody wants to buy, and the money has run out. When his marriage collapses, he keeps custody of his five-year-old son and takes an unpaid stockbroker internship, competing for a single job while the two of them slip into homelessness across 1980s San Francisco. Gabriele Muccino's biographical drama follows Gardner through crowded shelters, subway bathrooms and long odds, holding onto dignity and his boy. Will Smith plays Gardner with worn-down warmth, opposite his real son Jaden, in a true story about work, fatherhood and refusing to quit.
When was The Pursuit of Happyness released?
The Pursuit of Happyness was released on 14 December 2006.
How long is The Pursuit of Happyness?
The Pursuit of Happyness runs 1h 57m.
Who made The Pursuit of Happyness?
The Pursuit of Happyness was directed by Gabriele Muccino.
Where can I watch The Pursuit of Happyness?
The Pursuit of Happyness is available on Pluto TV, Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango at Home, FlixFling and Google Play.
Where to watch The Pursuit of Happyness
Watch free: Pluto TV
Rent: Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango at Home, FlixFling, Google Play, Spectrum On Demand
Buy: Fandango at Home, Google Play
Official site
Cast
- Will Smith as Chris Gardner
- Jaden Smith as Christopher
- Thandiwe Newton as Linda
- Brian Howe as Jay Twistle
- James Karen as Martin Frohm
- Dan Castellaneta as Alan Frakesh
- Kurt Fuller as Walter Ribbon
- Takayo Fischer as Mrs. Chu
- Kevin West as World's Greatest Dad
- George Cheung as Chinese Maintenance Worker
- David Michael Silverman as Doctor at First Hospital
- Domenic Bove as Tim Ribbon
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A few thoughts on The Pursuit of Happyness
God of War centers a hard father teaching a son to survive, the same bond that drives Gardner and his boy. Keiji Nakazawa's comic Barefoot Gen shows a family holding on through crushing hardship without losing hope. And the book Into Thin Air captures that human will to endure when every odd is stacked against you.
True stories of people surviving long odds
The Pursuit of Happyness draws its power from being true, and these films and one gripping book share that pull of real people surviving long odds. A homeless teen fights toward Harvard, a musician claws his way up, and ordinary figures endure disaster and hardship, each holding onto dignity when quitting would be so much easier.
Fathers and children holding each other up
At heart The Pursuit of Happyness is about a father refusing to let his son down, and these stories put that bond front and center. Reluctant dads, single parents and stubborn kids learn to lean on each other, finding that raising a child, or being raised by a flawed adult, is its own quiet act of courage.
Getting by on the edge of losing everything
The Pursuit of Happyness spends real time in shelters, subway bathrooms and eviction lines, and these films and one clear-eyed book sit with that same economic edge. Foreclosures, welfare offices, road-worn survival and mounting debt push decent people to the brink, showing how thin the line is between getting by and losing everything.