The Pursuit of Happyness

In the movie, Will Smith tells his son, "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something -- even me."

In its outlines, it's nothing like the usual success story depicted onscreen, in which, after a reasonable interval of disappointment, success arrives wrapped in a ribbon and a bow. Instead, this success story follows the pattern most common in life -- it chronicles a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats, missed opportunities, sure things that didn't quite happen, all of which are accompanied by a concomitant accretion of barely perceptible victories that gradually amount to something. In other words, it all feels real.

In fact, Chris in the movie is an extraordinary man, but no one is paying attention to him long enough to notice. He decides he wants to get an internship as a stockbroker for Dean Witter and, realizing that his resume looks weak, he sets out to meet the man in charge and say a few words on his own behalf. Throughout the film, had Chris had just a little more pride and a little less intelligence, he would blow it. But he remains friendly and resilient, never indulging in anger, never letting anyone else's mistaken perception of him wound him at his core. He stays fixed on his objective and warm in his response to the world -- and even then, things don't improve right away.