The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) - Goofs
Anachronisms
- The original Rubik's cube did not have a logo on the center white square.
- At Candlestick Park, there is a 49ers logo that was introduced in 1996.
- Will Smith's character's car is "booted" and towed away due to unpaid parking tickets. San Francisco began using the Denver Boot in the mid 1990's.
- The bright yellow platform edge warning system, in all of the BART station scenes, was installed in 1987.
- The movie shows all-glass bus shelters with large poster ads. The San Francisco MUNI adopted all-glass bus shelters in the 1990s. The posters first appeared in the late '90s.
- When Chris is having Mr. Frakesh's car moved, a 1991 Honda Accord is parked between the other cars.
- When Chris is making cold calls, his Togo's cup has lettering and a logo that first appeared in the late 1990s.
- A BART car has a "#1 Transit System in America" decal. BART won that award in October 2004. The movie is set in 1981.
- In 1981, the seats in BART trains were tan, not blue.
- Chris Gardner wears a Timex Indiglo watch. Indiglo was introduced in 1988.
- When Chris and little Chris are in the Glen Park BART station, a departing BART train has a "C" type car (a cab car with a flat face) on the end. BART started running those cars in the mid-1980s.
- Chris's basketball is from "Classic Sport," which was founded 1993. His ball was introduced in 2000.
- Jay Twistle's son wears a red hooded 49ers Starter parka. Starter started selling that line of parkas in 1990.
- When Chris gets into the cab with Mr. Twistle, a nearby UPS truck has their 2004 livery painted on it.
- When Chris is viewing Candlestick Park from the 'box seats', the camera pan shows glassed-in luxury boxes, which were added in the mid-1980s.
- Plastic grocery bags were not widely available in 1981.
- The tennis racket that the neighbor uses to beat his rug seems to be from 2002.
- In 1981, most of the buildings in the San Francisco skyline shots were not yet completed.
- The textbook given to Chris and the other interns is the 1988 edition of Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis, published well after the film's 1981 time frame.
- There are several references to "Pac Bell" (Pacific Bell) pensions. Pac Bell was one of the "baby bells" created by the court-ordered breakup of AT&T in 1984. Before that, the official name of the company was "The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company." Anyone who retired before that would have a pension from Pac-Tell, not Pac-Bell.
Character error
- When Chris visits the doctor who buys his last machine, the abdominal x-ray hanging in the background is upside-down. The pelvis and bladder should be at the bottom, not the top.
- When the stock broker stops his sports car and gets out, it rolls back, as if the hand brake has not been applied.
Continuity
- When Chris gets into the car after the football game, the bone scanner isn't in his lap. In the next shot, it is sitting on his lap.
- Before Chris solves the Rubik's cube, he is talking to Jay Twistle on the sidewalk near the taxi. A man in a brown jacket and tie passes by, followed by a blonde in blue clothing. A few seconds later, they pass by again walking in the same direction. When Chris runs out of the building after saying he has learned to get his job done early to make it to the shelter in time, the same man and woman appear in the distance, walking together. Near the end of the movie, when Chris learns he got the job, he walks outside, into a crowd of people walking. One of the extras walking near Chris is the same blonde in the same blue clothing.
- When Chris gets hit by the car, the momentum has him rolling forward. In the next scene, he is rolling to the left in the next lane.
- When Martin Frohm asks Chris to borrow $5 for the taxi, a red-headed woman in a burgundy jacket walks between the actors and the camera. In the next shot, she walks by again.
- When Chris admires the stock broker in the red sports car, the stock broker parks his car several feet behind another car. In the next shot, from across the street, the red sports car is just a few inches behind the other car. In the next shot, back to the original location, it is several feet away.
- When Chris enters Martin Frohm's office after he is summoned, Martin comments on Chris' shirt ("nice shirt"), which is blue. However, when Chris leaves the office his shirt is white.
- When Chris chases Hippie Girl in the BART station, he looks from the gate area down to the train platform. Hippie Girl stands next to a BART train with a "#1 Transit System in America" decal just to the left of the door. After he runs down to the platform and bangs on the closed train door, the decal is gone.
- When Chris is in the cab with Mr. Twistle solving the Rubik's Cube, the cab window behind him has a decal for a local radio station (KMEL) in the interior shots, but not the exterior shots.
- Christopher has a scuffle with the taxi driver, opens the front door, and tries to get his scanner out. When the taxi driver grabs him and tries to pull him out of the taxi, they are suddenly on the car hood (bonnet), and Christopher throws the taxi driver on the hood. In the same shot, the front door is closed again.
- (at around 1h 40 mins) After Chris and his son are denied a room, Wayne walks along in front of them, towards the camera, in a gray hat and a purple t-shirt.
- When Chris and Christopher are collecting their stuff after being kicked out of the hotel room, Christopher picks up his basketball in a grocery bag. The next time he is seen, he is carrying a garbage bag.
- At the beginning, when Chris and Christopher are walking to daycare, Christopher is carrying a basketball in a plastic grocery bag. In subsequent shots, he is not holding the ball. He receives the same ball as a gift later in the film.
Crew or equipment visible
- When Chris enters the firm for the first time, covered in paint, he turns the corner of cubicles while following the assistant. A crew member in a green shirt, black pullover, and red hat, retreats behind a pillar underneath the stock ticker.
- When Chris enters the day care center to pick up his son, the cameraman and camera are reflected in the window.
Errors in geography
- In the beginning, a person walks from a subway station while eating UTZ potato chips. UTZ chips are not available on the West Coast.
Factual errors
- In one scene, the train doors close on Chris Gardner's hand while he is holding a bone scanner. He doesn't let go, and the train departs with the doors partially open. That would never happen in real life; BART trains are designed not to move if the doors of any car are obstructed.
- When Smith purchases a new lamp for the scanner and is on the bus, he holds it up to the camera and shows it to be a Xenon tube, the sort used for strobe lights and camera flash. Later on after he repairs the scanner and switches it on, it shows as continuously illuminated. This type of lamp is a high speed discharge lamp that can only flash and lighting it continuously would melt it in seconds.
- When the Gardners leave for the football game in Walter Ribbon's Mercedes, the license plate is for a truck, not a car.
Miscellaneous
- Chris cashes several checks at a convenience store. Each time the cashier counts out the amount of the check. In reality, the store would charge a fee for cashing the check.
Revealing mistakes
- Chris takes his bone density scanner from the hippie on the bus. As he walks out, if you listen very closely, a woman whispers "is that Will Smith?"
- When little Chris' mother carries him in the bedroom and puts him in bed, he is supposed to be asleep. However, he lifts both of his legs up to avoid the side of the bed.
- When Chris and his son are denied a room at the shelter, a homeless guy hits a parking meter, which wiggles like it is made of rubber.
- At the subway, Christopher is sitting on the bench with his legs crossed, showing the soles of his sneakers. They are clean, as if they were brand-new.