Review: How to Achieve Success and Stay a Good Father - The Way of Chris Gardner
← Book Review: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre Is a Chance to Understand a Worth of Knowledge | The Class movie → |
1980. There are posters across San Francisco with brightly smiling young Robert De Niro, but this is not the case of importance for the main character. Chris Gardner (Will Smith), a victim of Reaganomics, has invested all his savings in bone-density scanners – devices that are useless and not required by any hospital, and now he needs to carry them around the city hospitals all day. At home, only his wife’s reproaches (Thandie Newton) and silent resentment in the eyes of his five-year-old son (Jaden Smith), who dreams of a basketball ball, are waiting for Chris. Once having met a classmate on Ferrari and recognizing that the car was bought on the money earned in the brokerage firm, Gardner recalls that he was good at math at school and decides to learn to be a broker. Nevertheless, his wife does not believe in him, the homeowner asks to pay the rent and, in the end, the lack of money makes Chris walk around the city with scanners at his neck and a son under his arm (Smith, & Muccino, 2006). This story may seem usual and banal, especially for the Hollywood movie industry, but it has something gripping in comparison with other similar pictures – the truth.
The situation discussed above was a real story. The Pursuit of Happyness is a biopic about Chris Gardner, who initially described his way to success and happiness in an autobiographic book. Chris Gardner has been a multimillionaire for already 20 years, but he started from nothing. Steven Conrad with the help of Gardner himself turned the book into a fascinating script for the movie. In his turn, debuting in Hollywood Italian director Gabriele Muccino turned the script into a movie (Niemiec, 2007). Will Smith playing the main character and Jaden Smith (the real son of the actor) playing small Christopher created one of the most appealing and touching couples that can be seen in the movies of this genre. Probably, this is because they actually are a father and son. Therefore, they both did not have to imitate care, the connection between the father and the son and mutual love. As a matter of fact, this work is probably the most valuable movie of Will Smith’s “collection”. This is his genre. An instructive, truthful and moving to tears picture that simply calls for action.
This movie is so appealing not only because of the whole touching and dramatic storyline but also of the details and particular scenes. What stands out the most is that every day Chris brings his son to a kindergarten, where the word “happiness” in the title is written with a touching grammatical mistake (“happyness”). Such a mistake is consistent with the general essence of the storyline being slightly Christmas-like (Niemiec, 2007). In other words, happiness appears to be a Christmas present for good behavior during a year. A mistake serves here as the reminder that one can change everything he/she wants on the way to success or the accomplishment of dreams. Such a small word, but how much sense the author has put into it.
It has already been mentioned that the movie is based on the autobiography of the real Chris Gardner. Interestingly, the real Chris Gardner appears for a second in the final (French, 2007). The director intentionally gave a real Chris a part to make the picture more descriptive and indicative. According to Gabriel Muccino’s point of view, it is better if the viewer does not know in advance who the prototype of the protagonist is. This is because Gardner is primarily known for his achievements in the financial sector and the audience may recognize him and predict the ending of the scene (French, 2007). Additionally, the movie refers to the pursuit of happiness which is elusive and not equivalent to the pursuit of purely career prosperity (Niemiec, 2007). The experience of a brief stay in the shelter for homeless, as well as knowledge of other unpleasant situations, really had a big impact on real Chris Gardner’s views (Gardner, 2009). Moreover, perhaps this experience even helped him in the future professional activity.
Nevertheless, one way or another the leitmotif of the work seems to be the line tied to the relationship between adult Chris and small Christopher, not the career and success (Gardner, 2009). That is why, the story begins with a soulful voice-over monologue, when Gardner remembers that the first time he saw his parents was only in 28 years and gives a mental promise that his child will always know his father, no matter what happens. The most touching and funniest moments depict small joys and the inevitable disappointments that accompany Gardner’s communication with his son Chris, forced deprivation has been endured, but deep down the main character is almost sorry for that.
Gabriele Muccino cleverly avoids common clichés of a typical biopic. Additionally, he highlights the spirit of that time, when not failing on the first steps towards the stockbroker position is a task almost impossible (French, 2007). The director works it with the virtuosity of a market trader selling a melon to a passerby. Using this metaphor further, you continue to listen to the trader not because you believe, and certainly not because you need a melon – you are just incredibly interested in what he/she is driving at, what another catchy joke he/she will tell, and at what point he/she will stop (French, 2007). Muccino’s shamelessness compares favorably with the older and more sincere bourgeois sentimentalists (for example, Stephen Spielberg in the movie Terminal). The audience is not tired of watching the pure truth, on the contrary, curiously waits for the next form it will take. Chris comes to an interview with financial bosses not simply not wearing the tie, but also in a dirty suit (he has painted the wall against the debt of rent and has had no other suit to change). In the other scene, a market tycoon borrows the last five dollars from Chris’s wallet – and here, the audience is guaranteed to be kept in suspense till the end of the movie with a thought in mind: Will he return five dollars in the final or not? It all appears to be incredibly exciting, and a problem of the shamelessness of Chris’s appearance in the official meeting becomes as insignificant as for what the scanner is needed (Niemiec, 2007). The answer, of course, exists in nature, but something tells that it is not a recipe for happiness and even more for “happyness”.
Telling the truth, all the most gentle, pathetic and impossible were added to the movie by screenwriters and the director. In real life, little Christopher was a teenager, Chris was paid a small scholarship for his internship, and, most importantly, he never knew how to solve the Rubik’s Cube – in the picture, it is one the most impressive details, proving that Chris is a unique person (Gardner, 2009). In fact, Gardner courageously allowed to varnish his life in order to make it more American dream-like but sticking to the truth on the screen.
To sum up, the movie shows America where the residents do not have private cars. They stand in line for social benefits and a cot in a city shelter and cry every Sunday at the church hoping for manna from heaven. Nevertheless, the main character of the movie frankly smiles at the chiefs and starts communication. Of course, there are moments in this story seeming like a fairy tale, although it is said that the picture is based on real events. However, probably, everyone in life faced a situation of great luck or when a good person turned to be nearby. The most important things that have led to the success of the protagonist are his own will and the little boy who is the main motivation. The story is slightly banal, exaggerated, and American dream-like. However, tiny details make it touching and truthful.
Buy movie review for any film and get good grade!
- The Class movie
- The Hurricane movie
- Book Review: Bad Science by Ben Goldacre Is a Chance to Understand a Worth of Knowledge
- Book Review: In the Memory of the Forest by Charles Powers
![]() |
Bryce F.
Capistrano, CA
|
|
Thanks for the excellent job that you guys did on my history assignment and my bio research paper. I never could have done this on my own. |
![]() |
Alexandra Z.
Dallas, TX
|
|
I am sitting here reading over what your writing service offers and I just realized that you are the only one that offers free rewrites and full guarantees on your work. This tells me that you are an honest company that I want to do business with. |
![]() |
Melissa C.
Rochester, NY
|
|
I am completely satisfied with the paper I purchased from your company. I only wish I had known about you last year when I took an F grade for not being able to complete a paper on time. The work you did was marvelous. Whenever I find myself falling behind in my school work, I will be sure to pass along some of my more difficult written assignments to you |
![]() |
Morgan W.
Eugene, OR
|
|
I don’t see how anyone could write a paper about something as boring as the psychology of the two year old, could make it sound so interesting, but your writers managed to pull it off. Thank you for putting forth such a concerted effort to do a good job. I really appreciate it. I will use your service again |
![]() |
Brianne H.
Tampa, FL
|
|
The paper that I purchased from EssaysEmpire.com was well written. Thank you. I will have another order for you soon. Since I was so happy with the way things went, I see no reason to use any other writing service. Your service delivers the goods, just like you say you will. |
![]() |
Thomas C.
Louisville, KY
|
|
I loved the paper that your writers helped me with. They wrote from a very interesting perspective that I had never even considered. My teacher was happy with the work, and so was I. Thank you very much. |
![]() |
Bruce R.
Tulsa, OK
|
|
Thanks for everything. You guys know how to write so well! I will call on you again in the future. |
![]() |
Shirley R.
Casper, WY
|
|
I would be honored to recommend your writing service to all of my friends. I don’t usually recommend anything unless I truly believe it to be a good thing. EssaysEmpire.com is a good thing! |
![]() |
Barry M.
Seattle, WA.
|
|
BRAVO! EssaysEmpire.com has done it again. I have just received another A+ for an EssaysEmpire.com paper! Thanks!Thanks! |
![]() |
Nancy B.
Lawrence, KS
|
|
I accidentally read the wrong chapters for my history assignment. Therefore, when it came down to the wire and I needed to hand in my history paper, I had to reach out for help very quickly. Your writers were able to put something together for me so fast! I couldn’t believe it! I handed the paper in and got a very high score on it. I was stunned! Thank you so much for your help! |
![]() |
Kris K.
San Francisco, CA
|
|
I would like to say thanks to writer #48376 for doing such an astonishing job on my paper. I really gave him very little to go on. Still, he was able to do the research and come up with a champion paper for me. I am speechless. I didn’t expect anything nearly this good. |
![]() |
Trilly M.
Spokane, WA
|
|
I just had to let you know how much I appreciated receiving a paper back that was of quality that high. I will recommend your writing service to other people I know. You guys do great work. |
![]() |
John G.
Erie, PA
|
|
Thanks goes out to the writers who presented me with the best paper I have ever turned in. My professor was so impressed with it that he took excerpts from it to put in his class handouts on how to write the perfect paper. EssaysEmpire.com, you made me one proud student today! |
![]() |
Marcus H.
Eugene, OR
|
|
You’ve done it again! Every time I order a paper from EssaysEmpire.com, you top the last one. This latest one was the best yet. I truly do appreciate the fact that you offer such high quality writing. It never fails. With some of the other writing services online, you ever really know what you are going to get. Sometimes, they just sell you a paper that someone else has already bought. I never have to worry about things like that happening when I use EssaysEmpire.com. |
![]() |
Grace G.
London, UK
|
|
I was quite satisfied with the results of my paper order. EssaysEmpire.com sure has some good writers! I thought it might just be some college kids who were writing in their spare time to earn some extra bucks. No! EssaysEmpire.com hires legitimate writers. They all seem to be well educated and intelligent, too. My paper was terrific! |
![]() |
Philipa W.
Rome, ITALY
|
|
The paper that your writers did for me on the topic of, The Psychological Effects of Fluorescent Lighting in the Workplace,” was right on the money! They included my long list of customizations and did not charge extra for them. The formatting was just right. There were no grammatical errors. The length was what it was supposed to be. I am so happy that I chose to let the EssaysEmpire.com writers take care of my paper for me. I will choose this writing service again without hesitation. |
![]() |
Zola R.
Salulita, MX
|
|
The paper that I bought from EssaysEmpire.com was a whole lot better than I thought it would be. Thank you for the excellent service and product. I will be happy to recommend you to my friends. |
![]() |
Sarah M.
Portland, OR
|
|
Today was the perfect day to make an A+! It convinced me that there are solutions to problems that seem impossible to solve. When I realized that the due date for my paper was coming up quickly, I felt like there was nothing I could do. If I didn’t hand in my paper on time, I would get an F and fail the course. However, I had to study for 3 major exams and write two other papers. My roommate suggested that I turn the paper over to you guys, which I did, and voila! I got an A+ on it and the problem was solved. Thank you, EssaysEmpire.com and to your writers and staff. You are a great writing service. |
![]() |
Fred H.
Berkeley, CA
|
|
Thank you for doing what you do. You helped a lot of my friends, and now you have helped me. You provide a valuable service to students who need to get over writing hurdles. |
![]() |
Cleo P.
Oakland, CA
|
|
I submitted my order as a ‘rush order’. I only had 2 days to get my paper finished and I just felt like I was sinking. I didn’t understand the material I was writing about, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. My friend recommended EssaysEmpire.com. I had very little lost by attempting to use this writing service, so I did. It was an excellent move on my part, because, not only was my paper finished on time. It was also excellently written. I will always be grateful to my friend for recommending your service. It is wonderful. |