Synopsis

In 1981 San Francisco, struggling salesman Chris Gardner invests his savings in portable bone-density scanners, but poor sales and mounting bills leave him and his young son without a home. Determined to build a better future, Chris accepts an unpaid stockbroker training position while battling homelessness, financial pressure, and the demands of single parenthood in a relentless fight for stability.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Chris Gardner's memoir and his experience of nearly a year of homelessness. Gardner later became an associate producer and appears briefly near the end, walking past the fictionalized version of himself.

• The title's unusual spelling comes from a misspelled mural outside the daycare facility attended by Gardner's son. The film uses it as a recurring symbol of how dreams and reality can exist side by side.

• Several parts of Gardner's life were compressed or changed for dramatic purposes. His real internship included a modest stipend, his son's mother was not his wife, and Gardner's son was an infant during the internship.

• The BART sequences were filmed on location over 17 days in October and November 2005. Production used real stations and trains, replaced modern advertisements with period material, and restored early-1980s uniforms and system maps.

• The bathroom sequence was not filmed in an actual station bathroom. It was created on a soundstage in Alameda.

• Speedcubing experts coached Will Smith to solve the Rubik's Cube seen in the film. The sequence reflects Gardner's real ability to impress potential customers with the puzzle.

• The younger performer playing Chris's son was Will Smith's real-life son, making the film their first feature-film pairing.

• The film received an Academy Award nomination for Smith's lead performance and earned more than $300 million worldwide against an estimated $55 million budget.