The Pursuit of Happyness

No, I haven't misspelt the title. It's a plot point. Not a key plot point, I should point out, but a plot point none the less.

One of my friends mentioned he liked this because the decent into poverty is subtle. There's no one big mistake, but a series of errors, mistakes and lapses of judgement. It was nice to see a subtle film. Too many lately have tried to force feed the background story into me, with all the subtlety of a crowbar in a china shop, which normally results in the audience drowning in saccharine at the finale of the film, when everything's OK again. This always reminds me of the end of each episode of the original Battlestar Galactica, when the camera would freeze frame at the characters enjoying a joke. I always felt like saying 'May I remind you 14 billion people are dead?' It's why I like the new one so much.

So, what's the film about? Well, it's about one man's decent into his own personal hell. No, not really. I've just always wanted to say that in a review. Although, the statement does have some merit. Will Smith is reported as giving the performance of his career in the film. I'm not so sure, personally I liked him better in Wild Wild West. Still, he manages to convey a real sense of desperation and angst. It was easy to see how he'd just made one bad choice after another, and this left him in a difficult situation with no easy way out.

Still, I have to make this point clear: This is not a feel good movie. It's a movie about real life.

One thing I can guarantee: When you leave the cinema, you'll never complain about your job. Well, at least not for a couple of days. Those of you with significant others (a group I've been excluded from for far too long) will also probably want to go home and give them a great big hug.

Score: A-

OQ: 'It's, um, an adult word used to express anger and, uh, other things. But it's an adult word. It's spelled right, but don't use it.' Oh, and I saw the new Spiderman 3 trailer while I was there. Woooooo..........I've got goosebumps! Oh, and another trailer for Blood and Chocolate. Actually it might have been the same one again. Does every audience who sees this trailer laugh when the title is revealed at the end? What a terrible title! I can think of three better one's off the top of my head: Wolfbane. Lovelives of the Wolfmen. Blood and Kibbles. There, three seconds that took.