film: Persuit of Happyness

Jerman's Rating: 4 steps forward, 1 step back. Defcon 3 for the tough situations the main character is in and the desperate plight in the plot. This film is for 18+, basically anyone out of high school and about to start a family or career.

This film was really hard for me to rate, the main character is definitely in the poverty level. The line between survival and morality becomes less and less clear, making rating this one very hard.


One of the biggest morals and contributors to the rating is how family was handled. Christopher (the son) is the most important thing in Chirs's life (the dad). Being able to care for his son gives him the greatest happiness. The mother (unlikable character, but highly relate-able) eventually leaves the family but not before confronting her choices and making the decision based on what is best for her son.

The main character, Chris, does many things we would consider immoral, like avoiding rent (Spiderman does it too), not paying rent at all, tax evasion, and illegal parking. He gets a fair consequence for all of his actions, but these actions should be weighed. If younger kids watch this movie, they might not understand the situation the family is in and might think that living in an apartment without paying for it is ok. I'll have to disclaimer myself here saying that I'm also not saying that if you're poor you have more liberty to steal and break the law, thats incorrect and shouldn't be encouraged. Several people through the movie are very kind to Chris's family and show him mercy (up to a point) I think this point is more important to stress, and I liked the way it was handled.

I also enjoyed that a church scene was included. Complete with a gospel choir and an audience clapping and crying. Chris is shown picking up his son, hugging him and having a spiritual moment. I don't know how religious the real man was (this was based on a true story), or how religious he was implied to be, I'm just happy this scene was in the movie.

This movie if it had to be classified, I would put in with the "inspirational movies." With that said, this movie is pretty depressing and very rough. If you can't stand watching movies like Meet the Parents because of all the awful things that happen one after another, the same thing might bug you here. Poverty and poor people are confronted a lot, this might make you uncomfortable, but raises some good questions for you to answer for yourself.
A moral film with good messages, its very professionally done, its kept at a slower pace, and doesn't start being positive until the near-end. Like I said before- If you are in a transition period in your life- starting a career or starting a family- then I'd more recommend this movie for you; as you would be able to relate a lot more.