I watched this movie recently and I thought it was a sobering experience. I hope I never have to go through what Will Smith's character goes through in this film. The way this movie depicts extreme poverty is brutally honest and it made me feel grateful for what I have.
However, I think this movie believes in the goodness of work to an extent that I just don't agree with. One review on wikipedia called it “the same old bootstraps story” and I totally see that. Will Smith works a 6 month unpaid internship, competing with other interns to become a stockbroker. He can only work 6 hours a day whereas the other interns work a full 9. Will Smith has voice over where he says that he increases his productivity by not drinking any water and not going to the bathroom, and I just don't think that part has aged well with Amazon's bad reputation of forcing workers to do just that.
There's another scene where Will Smith and his son are waiting to get into the homeless shelter. Another homeless person cuts in front of them right when the shelter says they are out of beds. This guy looks disheveled in the stereotypical way that homeless people are portrayed, a stark contrast to Will Smith who's wearing a business suit. Will Smith calls him out saying that he cut in line but he also says that he had been working all day and the implication is that he is more deserving of the spot in the shelter. This other guy doesn't even have any lines. We don't know his story. It just seeemed a bit mean-spirited to me.
This movie is definitely aware of wealth disparity, but in a way that feels incomplete to me. In that scene where Will Smith is in line for the shelter, some rich people drive by in a fancy car. They seemed to be going for a joy ride, so clearly these guys are the lazy rich people, but the movie also shows hard-working rich people. These are all of Will Smith's bosses at the stock firm. They're all kind hard-working people who went through the ringer just like Will Smith is doing. One of Will Smith's bosses remembers how his training was “a pain in the ass”. I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that they all worked from the ground up.
Anyway I just wanted to share my thoughts on this movie. What does everyone on this sub think of it?