Will to survive in 'Pursuit' of a dream

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America in the 1980s, the received wisdom goes, saw extremes of immense wealth and shocking poverty. Chris Gardner lived on both sides of that rich-poor gap.

His real-life rags-to-riches story is the basis for "The Pursuit of Happyness," and if this feel-good tale weren't based on Mr. Gardner's best-selling autobiography, it would be dismissed as unbelievable.

The struggling salesman, played by Will Smith, watches admiringly as a well-dressed man parks a red Ferrari. "I've got just two questions for you," the good-natured Chris says. "What do you do, and how do you do it?"

He's a stockbroker. When Chris says it's too bad he never went to college, the broker says all he needs is a head for numbers and some people skills.

That chance meeting changes Chris' life. Barely surviving as the San Francisco rep for an overpriced medical device, Chris risks everything -- including his family -- for a shot at entering that most select of '80s professions. Thus begins his pursuit of "happyness" -- the title refers to a misspelled mural at his son's day care.

Chris becomes a single father when his wife (Thandie Newton, all anger and tears) leaves him, fed up with working double shifts to support the family. That makes his decision to take a six-month unpaid internship at Dean Witter Reynolds even more complicated. Only one of the 20 interns will be hired by the firm. Chris will have to survive half a year on no salary -- with no guarantee of a job. At various times jailed, homeless and broke, it's a wonder he survives.

Will Smith gets through -- both the movie and the internship -- on charm. "The Pursuit of Happyness" is a ready-made Oscar vehicle for the actor, and he hasn't squandered his opportunity. In a restrained but affecting performance, he shows how difficult it can be to pursue a dream, no matter how determined you are.

His character's comfortable chemistry with his 5-year-old son, Christopher, comes as no surprise -- the boy is played by Mr. Smith's real son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith. He may have gotten the job through nepotism, but the boy can act.

"Happyness" has a mixed -- but realistic -- message. Yes, Chris pulls himself up by his bootstraps. But a handful of shots -- as when a convertible full of yuppies obliviously drives by a line of homeless men waiting to get into a shelter -- remind us that while the American dream may be a universal desire, it doesn't always seem universally accessible.

"Happyness" is the English-language debut of director Gabriele Muccino, whose "L'ultimo baccio" was made into "The Last Kiss," released earlier this year. It's not quite as accomplished as one might expect.