Buy it... if you enjoy easy, undemanding scores for pleasantly melodic orchestral ensembles and a light touch of snazzy urban rhythm.

Avoid it... if you expect any melodrama greater than the typical piano-driven character themes of the likes of Randy Edelman.

The Pursuit of Happyness: (Andrea Guerra) A genuine rags to riches story set in 1981 San Francisco, The Pursuit of Happyness is an inspirational tale of survival in today's capitalist society. The lengthy story details the lowest moments of a father's life: a man left by his wife, abandoned by his friends, and forced to live on the streets of the city with his young son while attempting to break into a good job. Sheer luck leads to an internship at a large corporation, and in a film destined for a written epilogue of "happily ever after" proportions, the man perseveres in both his professional life and his relationship with his son. Another dimension of success for the picture has been the ethnicity brought to it by Will Smith and his own real-life son in the starring roles. The picture is an oddity that has, for some reason, launched itself to blockbuster success over its first two months. Going against it was the stark technique of Italian director Gabriele Muccino in his first English film, as well as tepid reviews from critics who saw little redeeming in the film outside of Smith's performances. Another intriguing and different side of the story includes composer Andrea Guerra, who Muccino brought with him from Italian cinema. A veteran of scoring for the past two decades, Guerra is an accomplished and well-respected composer in Italy, earning consideration for several top awards in that country during the past five years. His work on La Finestra di Fronte in 2003 won him the equivalent to an Oscar in the country, translating into outstanding record sales. That strong score shows several sides of Guerra's writing, including classical orchestral lyricism and, more popularly, a combination of that style with modern samples and rhythms very similar to the work of Australia's Craig Armstrong. An operatic vocal performance of that score's title theme is nothing short of outstanding. In the international scene, Guerra's sole work of note is Hotel Rwanda, for which he was nominated for both a Grammy and Golden Globe for his involvement in the writing of the song "Million Voices."

	Only $9.99

Guerra's score for The Pursuit of Happyness would mark his first solo venture into American cinema, and while he brings strong credentials with him, the resulting score lacks much of the melodrama of his previous scores. This absence of obvious romantic style is understandable, since the film doesn't hit the emotional overload button until its final scene of success. For collectors already familiar with Guerra's work, the only truly romantic, full-scale crescendo of the ensemble comes in the triumphant "Welcome Chris" cue. The remainder of the score is surprisingly restrained, helping to depict the struggles of modern life with a contribution either very minimal in volume or touching in basic fashion on the hip, urban environment of the film. The cues with an enhanced bass rhythm are the highlights of the score for The Pursuit of Happyness. Some light keyboarding hints of early 80's sensibilities, but the overall positive spirit of Guerra's writing in these light rhythms, often led by piano and solo woodwind performances, will remind American listeners of the easy, undemanding scores of Randy Edelman. With tingling percussion and other soothing percussion, as well as smoothly flowing thematic performances, there's an innocence of style here that sounds remarkably like Edelman's Kindergarten Cop when the cues are led by piano. Heightened rhythms, as in "Being Stupid," offer snappy plucked strings in Thomas Newman tradition, and truly stylish pieces like "Running" tip a hat to the inherent coolness of Will Smith's persona --regardless of the role-- and add significant levity to the score. There are significant portions of the score, especially in the latter half, that meander without much direction. The interpolations of theme during these sequences are usually harmonic, but their performances are slow, often barely audible, and add little balance of quality to the attractiveness of the score's brighter moments. Overall, The Pursuit of Happyness isn't among Guerra's top works, but it's a worthy first step into American cinema, and the generally positive spirit of the score, along with its pleasing modern instrumental accompaniment to the orchestra, make it an enjoyable experience on album. As Varèse Sarabande states right on the packaging, the Golden Globe-nominated Seal song from the film is unfortunately not present on this score-only album. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download