The Pursuit of Happyness

Time to get up, man.

All right, Dad. Come on.

Should be here soon.

I think I should make a list. Uh, what do mean?

For your birthday gifts? Yeah.

Well, you know you're only getting a couple of things, right?

Yeah, I know.

Just to look at and study,

so I can choose better.

Okay, well, that's smart. Yeah, make a list.

Can you spell everything you're thinking of?

I think so.

All right. That's good.

How you doing in here, man?

Okay.

Can we go to the park today?

After?

Um. No, I gotta go to Oakland.

Well, uh... maybe. We'll see.

Give me a kiss.

I'll talk to you later.

Excuse me.

(PEOPLE TALKING IN CHINESE)

Oh. Excuse me, uh...

when is, uh, somebody gonna clean this off?

And... And... And the Y?

The Y. We talked about this.

It's an I in "happiness."

There's no Y in "happiness." It's an I.

I'm Chris Gardner.

I met my father for the first time

when I was 28 years old.

And I made up my mind as a young kid

that when I had children,

my children were gonna know who their father was.

This is part of my life story.

This part is called

"Riding the Bus."

What's that?

It's a time machine, isn't it?

Seems like a time machine.

That seems like a time machine.

It's a time machine. Take me with you.

This machine...

This machine on my lap...

This guy, he has a time machine.

He... He... He travels. He travels in the past

with this machine and...

it is not a time machine.

It's a portable bone-density scanner.

A medical device I sell for a living.

Thank you for the opportunity to... To discuss it with you.

I appreciate it. We just don't need it, Chris.

It's unnecessary. And expensive.

Well, maybe next... Thank you.

It gave a slightly denser picture than an x-ray...

for twice the money.

Hey. Hey, baby.

What happened? Uh... No, nothing.

Look, I can't get Christopher today.

Oh, no, you don't, Chris. I need...

I'm back on at 7.

I know. I have got to go to Oakland.

So I gotta get Christopher home,

feed him, bathe him,

get him in bed, and be back here by 7? Yes.

And we got the tax bill notice today.

What are you gonna do about that?

Look. This is what we gotta do.

You see that car?

The one with the pretty yellow shoe on it?

That's mine.

There's no parking near hospitals.

That's what happens when you're always in a rush.

Thanks anyway. Uh, very much.

Uh... Uh, maybe next quarter. It's possible.

I needed to sell at least two scanners a month

for rent and daycare.

I'd have to sell one more

to pay off all of those tickets under my windshield wiper.

The problem is...

I haven't sold any for a while.

Since when do you not like macaroni and cheese?

Since birth?

What's that? What?

What is this?

It's a gift for Christopher.

From who? Cynthia from work.

It's for adults. Chris can't use it.

She didn't know.

What are you supposed to

do with it?

Make every side the same color.

Did you pay the taxes?

No, I'm gonna have to, uh, file an extension.

You already filed an extension.

Yeah, well, I gotta file another one.

That's... It's $650.

I'll have it in the next month.

That means interest, right?

And a penalty? Yeah, a little bit.

Look, why don't you let me do this?

All right, just relax. Okay?

Now, come here. Calm down.

I have to go back to work.

Let's get ready for bed.

Hey, uh, put your plate in the sink.

A few days ago I was presented with a report I'd asked for.

A comprehensive audit, if you will,

of our economic condition.

You won't like it. I didn't like it.

But we have to face the truth

and then go to work to turn things around.

And make no mistake about it...

we can turn them around.

The federal budget is out of control.

And we face runaway deficits of almost $80 billion

for this budget year

that ends September 30th.

That deficit is larger

than the entire federal budget in 1957.

And so is the almost $80 billion

we will pay in interest this year on the national debt.

Twenty years ago, in 1960,

our federal government payroll

was less than $13 billion.

Today it is 75 billion.

During these 20 years, our population

has only increased by 23.3 percent...

Woo! Man.

I got two questions for you:

What do you do? And how do you do it?

I'm a stockbroker.

Stockbroker. Oh, goodness.

Had to go to college to be a stockbroker, huh?

You don't have to.

Had to be good with numbers

and good with people.

That's it. Hey, you take care.

Hey. I'm gonna let you hang on to my car for the weekend.

But I need it back for Monday. Feed the meter.

I still remember that moment.

They all looked so...

damn happy to me.

Why couldn't I look like that?

I'm gonna try to get home by 6.

I'm, uh, gonna stop by a brokerage firm after work.

For what?

I wanna see about a job there.

Yeah? What job?

Uh, you know, when I...

When I was a kid, I could go through a...

A math book in a week.

So I'm gonna go see about, uh,

a job they got down there.

Oh.

What job?

Stockbroker.

Stockbroker?

Yeah.

Not an astronaut?

Don't talk to me like that, Linda.

I'm gonna go down to see about this,

and I'm gonna do it during the day. Mm-hm.

You should probably do your sales calls.

I don't need you to tell me about my sales calls, Linda.

I got three of 'em

before the damn office is even open.

Do you remember that rent is due next week?

Probably not.

We're already two months behind.

Next... Next week we'll owe three months.

I've been pulling double shifts

for... For four months now, Chris.

Just... Just sell what's in your contract.

Get us out of that business.

Linda. That is what I am trying to do.

This is what I'm trying to do for my family.

For you and for Christopher.

What's the matter with you?

Linda.

Linda.

This part of my life

is called...

"Being Stupid."