Happyness Trailer Released; Title Still Spelled Wrong

Though not a huge Will Smith fan, I've been sort of looking forward to The Pursuit of Happyness because a)I want to know how they explain the annoyingly misspelled title, and b)director Gabriele Muccino, who makes his English-language debut with the film, has been the hottest Italian in Hollywood for the past few months, so I want to see what all the fuss is about. Unfortunately, the just-released trailer denies me satisfaction on both fronts. It does, however, show us how Will Smith looks with more hair and a mustache (actually pretty convincingly different, if you can forget it's Will Smith -- which I'm afraid will be a challenge), and whether his son Jaden, who costars in the movie, can act (my money's on no, his few scenes are really not promising).

In the film, Smith plays a divorced father who, for some reason, has to take custody of his young son. And, based on the preview, there will be many tears shed by audiences as Will struggles (and fails) to pay rent, and tries to find a way to hold his life together. You've got to hand it to Muccino -- this is a schmaltzy-ass movie from the word "go," and he doesn't bother to pretend it's anything else. And I can tell you right now that if I see this sucker, I will be crying though the struggle and inevitable triumph when Will wins that "highly competitive" Dean Witter internship. Yes, I'm a sap. One question, though: The Dean Witter suit who's impressed when Will solves a Rubik's Cube? What's that about? Did he miss the entire 1980s, or something?

The Pursuit of Happyness comes out in December, in order to make sure the Academy notices -- and remembers -- just how far out of his box Smith is stepping with his big hair and old clothes.

[via JoBlo]