This film is very good in some respects. Will Smith turns in a stellar performance as Chris Gardner, a down-and-out salesman who hasn’t sold anything lately. Due to the financial stress in their lives, his wife finds that she cannot cope and leaves him and their five-year-old son as she believes Chris can take care of him better than she can. “The Pursuit of Happyness” is the story of persistence, and it does have a pay-off in the end. Some viewers will find the journey a bit depressing. It does have a few humorous moments which are genuinely funny, but it would have been nice if they had included more of them.

This is one of those near-misses for Dove. The F-bomb is seen plainly as graffiti on a street wall early in the film, and later the son asks his father about the word and uses it when asking. It is a shame that this one flaw prevents us from awarding this film the Dove Family-Approved Seal. It spoils a film that is otherwise suitable for ages twelve and above.