PRINTER FRIENDLY VIEW
(inverts site colors)

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: CD or Download

Total Time: 40:00