Saturday, January 27, 2007

Run (don't walk) to see this movie!

What do you say about a movie named eponymously for the philosophy embodied in the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson is spoken of with reverence and awe, wealth viewed as a good thing, and capitalism and hard work the means to achieve it?

What if in the same movie, rich successful white people are admired and portrayed as helpful fair-minded role-models rather than racist foils and the IRS is a heartless bankrupting bureaucracy?

And what if the person who holds these views is a homeless black man who somehow has realized that in life, the reason why you don't get what you want is usually not because some enemy (whitey, the po-leece, societal racism, etc.) thwarted you, but that you simply made poor decisions and didn't work hard enough?

Oh yes, and what if I told you it's based on a true story. (That you might have guessed since all of the viewpoints above are based on reality.)

Well, you say it's uniquely great and should win multiple academy awards.

It won't, but you should see The Pursuit of Happyness anyway. I'll see it more than once and make gifts of the DVD when it comes out.