The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe
Director: Gabriele Muccino      


     If someone you know is struggling with unemployment this is an amazing film to rent for them.  

     Based upon the true story of a genius, Chris Gardner who finds himself a single dad, homeless and without a job, basically as far down as a person can get in American society.  Living on the streets, he ultimately gets back on his feet and climbs to the top of the heap as owner of his own firm in 1980s San Francisco.  Smith's own son plays his son in this film. The scene where father and son have to sleep in a public bathroom is one of the all time most memorably haunting scenes in cinema history. 

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Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy
Director: Stephen Herek 

    This is a story for anyone who has had to postpone their dreams because life gets in the way.  Glenn Holland is a music teacher frustrated by his lot in life with dreams of becoming a composer but his wife's pregnancy forces him to give up the dream and become a teacher at the local high school.  Add to this, his son is born deaf and Holland feels he has nothing in common with his child.  The ending of the movie is a testament to the power of pursuing your dreams and the bond that can develop even within adversity between a father and son.   You'll cheer, you'll cry and you'll beg for more.  

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