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I would firstly like to praise Will Smith for an absolutely outstanding performance. I know that is a very strange way to start a review, but the portrayal of struggling salesman/father to stockbroker Chris Gardner is absolutely first-rate with the acting magnitude and eloquence dealt by the Fresh Prince arguably being the best on his resume. Like Michael Mann's Ali (2001), Smith has to play the part of a real person. However, this time despite Gardner being relatively well known because of his financial and philanthropic activities, his fame is nothing compared to one of the world's greatest ever sportsmen, and the consequent lack of that volume of public pressure must have been a slight relief for Smith. Nevertheless, Gardner, and the readers of his bestselling autobiographical tale wanted the film adaptation to deliver, and debutant in English-language films, Muccino, serves up a delicious feast for the eyes, leaving Smith to interact wonderfully with his real-life son whilst capturing beautiful San Francisco in all its glory.
One has to remember how well the timeframe flows throughout the story. In reality, Gardner's homelessness story (which basically epitomises a rags to riches tale) happens over a number of years, whereas screenwriter Steve Conrad cuts the action down to occurring in 1981 with a few detail changes to engage the Hollywood audience further than a more accurate interpretation. I, along with the person I watched the film with, liked the polished story incorporating the rollercoaster elements of success and then failure/unluckiness that greets Gardner and his son. I can also see though how some audiences would find the dramatization annoying. Believability is the key here as the pace (six months of Gardner's stock brokerage internship) gallops along seeming a little unrealistic of the plight he really had to experience. Muccino partly makes up for this though as Smith narrates how much Gardner has left in his bank account exactly, the constant problem with the Californian hippies stealing his state-of-the-art machines, and the secret world of single parenthood he hides from his colleagues and employers. He hits home the morals and messages of this quasi-American Dream without making it into an overlong epic mess.
Thandie Newton and Jaden Smith are cast excellently, with the latter carrying himself next to his father on and off the screen very well. Smith steals the show though, bouncing himself off the experience of recognisable faces Howe, Karen and Castellaneta, mixing the jokes, emotion and even the national phenomenon of the Rubik's Cube into this nicely interwoven yarn.
The summary
Expect to see an Oscar nod for Big Willy from West Philly, and the very real possibility for the 'pursuit' to end on the podium at the Kodak Theatre. Go and see this film if you appreciate admirable storytelling and fine acting. Don't forget to bring a hankie though...
