That said, I have to also say how much I liked and admired Chris Gardner, the man that Will Smith portrayed. In Chris we see a nobleness and persistence in hardship that is inspiring. Unfortunately we never really get a chance to rejoice with him until the last paltry few minutes.
There are many great scenes in the movie where we get a peek into another part of Americana. We get a glimpse of what it is like to be poor, spend nights in a homeless shelter and fight for every dime you make. We also get a chance to see these events through the eyes of a little boy. I cried as I watched.
I disagreed with a subtle message of the movie that says that you cannot be happy when you are in hard times. On several occasions Chris gave us the impression that he would be happy when he 'got the job'. My experience tells me that, though it is often difficut, you can find happiness (small though it may be) in times of great difficulty and changing your circumstances will not always bring happiness. On a scale of ten I give this movie ★★★★★★.
A good balanced review. I wish we could have rejoiced more with him, not just the few minutes there. But I thought (perhaps wrongly and I'm open to reconsidering this) that th emessage was that the pursuit of happiness is tough work and is no guarantee...
ReplyDeleteProbably just semantics Danny. The pursuit of happiness guaranteed in our country is probably better named pursuit of your dreams.
ReplyDeleteFortunately happiness does not have this limitation and doesn't have to be pursued but simply experienced with God. I love how the word blessed is sometimes translated happy ... happy are the people whose God is the Lord!