The-Pursuit-of-Happiness(当幸福来敲门)经典电影英文影评

1ThePursuitofHappiness（当幸福来敲门）2006WithatitlelikeThePursuitofHappiness,youexpectthecharacterstogettothepromisedland.Theydo,butifthejourneymattersmorethanthedestination,thisisamovietoskip.ThePursuitofHappynessislong,dull,anddepressing.Itexpandsintotwohoursastorythatcouldhavebeentoldmoreeffectivelyinone.Thisisnotthefeel-goodmovieoftheseasonunlessyoubelievethatafewmomentsofgoodcheercanredeem110minutesofgloom.SittingthroughThePursuitofHappinessisachore.Downbeatmoviesaren'tinherentlybad(infact,manyarepowerful),butthisoneprovidesartificialcharactersincontrivedcircumstances.Howisitthatmoviesinspiredbyarealstoryoftenfeelmorefakethanthosefullyembeddedintherealmoffiction?WillSmithhasgeneratedOscarbuzzforhisportrayalofChrisGardner,thereal-lifeguywhoserags-to-richesstoryformsthebasisofthemovie.(Impoverishedguybecomescapitalistposterboy.)Whileit'sfairtosaythatthisisoneofthebeststraightperformancesofSmith'scareer,itdidn'tblowmeaway.Inandofitself,theacting,whileeffective,isnotBestActormaterial,butitwouldn'tsurprisemeifthemovie'sprestigefactorandSmith'spopularityearnhimanod.Meanwhile,hisfemaleco-star,ThandieNewton,isn'tgoingtobeconsideredforanyaward.Newtonspendsabout90%ofherscreentimedoinganimpersonationofaharpy:screeching,bitching,andcontortingherfaceintounpleasantexpressions.Smith'sson,Jaden,isokayasthemovie'schildprotagonist;it'sunclearwhetherhisoccasionaldeficienciesaretheresultofhisacting,StevenConrad'swriting,orGabrieleMuccino'sdirection,butthere'snotmuchpersonalitybehindthecutefeaturesandcurlyhair.ChrisGardner(WillSmith)isdownonhisluck.It's1981SanFranciscoandhisself-employedbusinessofsellingportablebonedensityscannersisn'tdoingwell.Hiswife,Linda(ThandieNewton),doesnothingbutyellathimandgivehimacoldshoulder,andthelackofdomesticharmonyisimpactingthedispositionofhisbelovedson,Christopher(JadenChristopherSyreSmith).That'swhenChris'lifeturnsintoacountrysong.Hiswifeleaves.Heisevictedfromhishome.Hegoestojail,neitherpassingGOnorcollectingamuch-needed$200.Hegetshitbyacar.Heisrobbed.Hemakeshissoncry.Healienatesafriendover$14.Hegetstospendanightinthecleanestpublicrestroominthehistoryofpublicrestrooms.Butthere'sabrightspot,althoughyouneedadark-adaptedeyetofindit.Despitehavingnoexperience,ChrisappliestoenteraninternshipprogramatDeanWitter.Hewouldappeartohavenochancetogetinuntilheamazestheheadoftheprogram(BrianHowe)bysolvingtheRubik'sCubepuzzleinthebackofataxicab.It'sablessingthatthemoviedoesn'tuseastockvillaintoimpedeChris'herky-jerkytriptothetop,becausethatwouldhavetippedthemovieintotheempireoftheunwatchable.However,thelackofastrongconflictmakesthetwo-hourrunninglengthseemverylong.Thankfully,there'salsonotmuchinthewayofovertmelodrama,butthatcouldbeabyproductofhavingcharacterswhoarenotdeeplyrealizedandhavenarrowemotionalranges.It'stoughtoconnectwithChrisandhisson.Althoughtheyareplayedbyareal-lifefatherandson,there'snochemistrybetweenthem.We'reconstantlytoldhowdesperatelyChrislovesChristopher,butittakesalongtimebeforewebegintobuyit.Mostofthetime,ChristopherseemslikeanannoyingpieceofbaggagethatChrisdropsoffatdaycarewhenhehasotherthingstodo.Thefilm'smostcompellingscenesarethosethatshowChrisstrugglingtoentertheratrace.Granted,thisisnoGlengarryGlenRoss,butitshowsthepressurethesesalesmenareunderandhowimportantthecontactlistsare.Intheoverallschemeofthings,however,thesesequencesarebackgroundnoise.Theyareneitherplentifulnorlengthy.ThemoviespendsmoretimefollowingChrisonhisfutilesalesroundsforthebonedensityscannerthanitdoesaccompanyinghimduringhisbrokertraining.Themoralofthestoryisastriteastheycome:don'tletanyoneconvinceyoutogiveuponyourdreams.Disneyanimatedfilmshavebeendoingthisbetterfordecades.ThePursuitofHappynessconcludeswithacaptionthattellsuswhathappenstoChrisaftertheendofthemovie;itpromisesabetterstorythantheonewehavejustwatched.Thefilmisalsomarredbyapersistent(althoughnotverbose)voiceoverthataddsnothingtothestorywhilefrequentlyjerkingusoutoftheexperienceofwatchingit.Idon'tneedWillSmithtellingme:Thispartofthestoryiscalled'ridingthebus.'ThisistheEnglish-languagedebutofGabrieleMuccino,whohasmadeanameforhimselfinItaliancinema.ThePursuitofHappinesshasthekindofslow,drabtoneoneoccasionallyassociateswithadirectorraisedoutsideoftheHollywoodsystem.Whatcanbeanassetinsomecircumstancesisadetrimentinthisone.ThePursuitofHappinessisn'tenjoyable,anditsmeagerpleasures,includingtheeventualpayoff,aren'tenoughtojustifytheunrelentingmisery.ThePursuitofHappinessiscompetentlymadeandgetslotsofthedetailsright,butwhenitcomestotheemotionalcoreofthestory,itlosesthepursuitandmissesthehappiness.2No.2ThePursuitofHappiness（当幸福来敲门）2006WillSmithplaysaSanFranciscomedicalequipmentsalesmanwhoresolvestochangehislifeandbecomeastockbroker,butismadehomelessintheprocessThesortoffilmtheOscarsaredesignedfor,ThePursuitOfHappinessshouldinducenausea.There'sthecheesydialogue(Youwantsomething,gogetit-period!).There'stheannoyingtitle,withitsdeliberatemisspelling(areferencetoasloganseenonawallthatbecomesthefilm'smantra).Andthere'sthefatherandsonactingcomboofWillSmithandseven-year-old