by Sun Meilan

Created on: March 28, 2008

Chris Gardner is a travelling salesman, reliant on the commission from his sales to pay the bills and rent. The job is not as profitable as he had hoped and he and his partner, Linda, who works shifts in a factory, are struggling to make ends meet. But Chris has a plan. He wants to become a stockbroker. The only problem is, the only way to become one is to try to get an unpaid internship for six months. His pushiness gets him the internship, but Linda has had enough and leaves him and their son, Christopher. After losing their flat and becoming homeless, Chris is forced to reconsider his options. Will he ever achieve his ambition of becoming a stockbroker and be able to provide for his son?

I have put off watching this film until now for one reason only; I cannot bear bad spelling at the best of times, but to me, in this world full of people who already struggle to spell properly, to release a film the title of which is blatantly misspelled, is madness. Having now watched the film, the misspelling does make more sense - and Chris does point out that it should be an i and not a y - but I still think the title of the film should be correctly written. I am glad that I gave the film a chance in the end though, and, of course, there are worse crimes than bad spelling in this world!

The basic premise of the film, a poor man with a dream that he wants to come true at all costs, is very appealing, if not exactly original, all the more so because it is based on a true story. It is always inspiring to know that there are people out there who haven't been handed their livelihood on a plate. There is a feeling of Hollywood sentimentality about the film, but then, I didn't really expect anything else from a Hollywood blockbuster. What makes this film stand out from a whole host of similar films, for me at least, is the fact that Chris Gardner isn't made out to be perfect. In fact, there were times when I could have slapped him. I think he mistreated Linda and to put a child in the situation that he put his son in is reprehensible as far as I am concerned. This all manages to make him seem more human and the film was therefore more convincing.

I also like the fact that it tackled the issue of homelessness and how easy it is for people to suddenly find themselves in that situation. I think the fact that it the story takes place in the eighties when the economy was in trouble needs to be taken into consideration here - it is easy to wonder why Chris didn't just go out and get

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