Chris Gardner (Will Smith) sits in his San Francisco apartment in 1981 watching President Reagan on television and fiddling with a Rubik's Cube. The president, talking about the nation's economy, says, "Make no mistake about it, we can turn this thing around."

	Zade Rosenthal photos Will Smith, left, and son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith give inspiring performances in "The Pursuit of Happyness." Click photo for larger image. 'Pursuit of Happyness' Starring: Will Smith. Director: Gabriele Muccino. Rating: PG-13 for some language. Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/ Related coverage Rubik's Cube returns Family Film Guide

"The Pursuit of Happyness" is about Gardner's efforts to turn things around in his life and solve his problems, just as he tries to master that brain-teasing toy. A lesser man might have sunk into hopelessness, defeat or outright despair.

After personal and financial setbacks, Gardner and his 5-year-old son, Christopher, lose their car and modest San Francisco apartment and end up penniless and homeless. At their lowest point, they sleep on the floor of a locked men's room at a subway station.

It's a miracle Gardner survived, let alone thrived. Credit intelligence, grit, determination and desperation.

If the story behind "Pursuit" sounds familiar, Gardner was the subject of a memorable, moving "20/20" report that first aired in 2003 and has repeated since. In addition, he wrote a book about his life and appeared recently on "Oprah" with the movie's stars.

As happenstance would have it, I saw that ABC report. I had no idea then that it would be a movie, and I cannot rewind and erase it from my mind. Knowing the outcome, however, doesn't detract from Smith's moving performance. One of his finest moments comes when he is slumped against the wall of a public restroom, silently crying, ignoring the rapping at the door as his exhausted son sleeps in his lap.

If his Oscar-nominated turn in "Ali" was built, in part, on the boxer's bluster, Smith's Gardner is a man who will not give up. He is constantly racing down sidewalks, through parks, across streets and once, by accident, into the path of a car that hits him so hard he cracks the windshield, his shoe flies off and he bounces to the pavement.

The real-life father-son pairing makes for very natural screen interactions. Click photo for larger image.

"Pursuit of Happyness" takes its name from a misspelled mural outside a day-care center. One day, after spotting a flashy sports car, Gardner asks the driver what he does for a living. He's a stockbroker, a job that requires being good with numbers and people.

Gardner is both of those things, and he decides to apply for an internship with a brokerage firm. "Pursuit" follows Gardner's attempt to gamble on a new career, even as he tries to take care of his son and surmount the hurdles of his life. Every time he clears one, another appears either right in front of him or on the horizon.

"Pursuit" was written by Steven Conrad ("Wrestling Ernest Hemingway," "The Weather Man") and directed by Gabriele Muccino, a native of Italy. This is his first English-language film, and he and Conrad take a conventional approach to the story, down to the cameo by the real Gardner and the stingy on-screen update.

The unconventional part comes in Smith, who co-stars with his real-life son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (his mother is Jada Pinkett Smith). That combination leads to the most natural father-son moments you will find in a recent movie. There seems to be little acting involved when the boy tells his father he loves him or the father asks his son to trust him.

The movie was inspired by actual events, but some changes -- the women in his life, for starters, and the fact his son was actually a toddler at the time -- have been made for dramatic purposes. The screenplay sharpens the father and son against the world angle and plays up the theme of pursuing and protecting your dreams.

Other holiday movies may be more original than "Pursuit," but it wins the inspiration contest hands down.