In 1970s San Francisco, Chris Gardener (Will Smith) is struggling to make ends meet, selling medical equipment door-to-door. His fed-up wife (Newton) finally decides to leave, but Chris won't let her take their 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden, son of Will). When Chris gets an internship as a stockbroker, it means six extremely competitive months without a salary. He's got a plan, but everything that could go wrong does. And then some. Eventually father and son are homeless and desperate, counting on the slim chance of a permanent job at the end.

This is a seriously amazing story of tenacity against the odds, of being willing to give everything to achieve a dream. Watching Gardener's journey is often jaw-dropping, simply because of the obstacles that block every step. But this is also the film's main failing, because it centres on problems rather than Gardener himself. The plot is a litany of bad breaks, from getting arrested for unpaid parking tickets to having his merchandise stolen by homeless people, from being treated as a gofer by his boss (Castellaneta) to constantly showing up under-dressed for one reason or another.

It's just too much. Sure, Chris strikes it lucky here and there, but it's his raw achievement against the odds that's the most astonishing thing here--and the one thing we never really see. Instead this is a movie about a father and son who stick together amid overwhelming adversity, protecting each other with good humour and warm affection. That's not a bad story, but it's only part of this one.

Real-life father and son Will and Jaden are natural and believable, likeable and fresh. So it's a pity the filmmakers feel the need to lay on the sentiment so thickly, amping up the cuteness factor and focusing on the triumph over adversity, rather than their real accomplishment. It's a terrific tale, and the film is watchable. But it should have been much better than this.

themes, language

20.Nov.06