The Pursuit of Happyness (DVD)

I have been wanting to see the Pursuit of Happyness film since around 2006/2007 when I was living on the Mayport Naval base in Florida. I'm glad that I finally got the chance to see this motivational film that also had equal moments of heart string pulling and tear jerking scenes. As many know, Pursuit of Happyness stars Will Smith as Chris Gardner and Smith's real-life son Jaden Smith as the child. Thandie Newton also is one of the celebrities included in the film. One of the heart string pulling scenes is where the character of Chris Gardner and his son are shown waiting along with what looks to be several hundred other people waiting in line for homeless housing, but the shelter could only house around 50 people (an indirect commentary on the number of homeless shelters available in the U.S.). One of the employees of the homeless shelter is seen having to do the difficult job of announcing to the many waiting that they have now reached their daily cutoff, leaving the obvious impression that others are going to have to try elsewhere and/or again the next day. On an unrelated note, I especially can't help but have feeling around this issue after unexpectedly running into a female who was homeless (less than a year ago), but was at least happy to have got a spot at a nearby homeless shelter and a job as an event planning assistant even as she was trying to qualify for public housing (which was obviously going to be a possible but tricky feat for her because she appeared to be both childfree and single). I only say that because it is common knowledge that the circumstances and probability of being able to qualify for public housing are different for those who have children compared to those who voluntarily chose to not have children. Without revealing her identity, the only other thing I feel comfortable in disclosing is that it appeared to me that she had previously actually lived in D.C., based on what she told me and where I ran into her (I wish to avoid disclosing for the sake of the review and my conscience on what is ok to reveal about that encounter). The ending of the Pursuit of Happyness gives the following data; After beginning his career at Dean Witter, Chris Gardner went on to open the investment firm Gardner Rich in 1987. Chris Gardner himself then makes a brief appearance in the film. Then the following other info; In 2006, Chris Gardner sold a minority stake in his brokerage firm in a multi-million dollar deal.

great film