By Sue Anne Pressley Montes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 26, 2007

D.C. officials took a group of homeless people from city-run shelters to a special screening yesterday of the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness," hoping that the story of a single father's determination to make a home for his young son would encourage them in their struggles.

The movie is based on the story of Chris Gardiner, now a multimillionaire businessman in Chicago. Its message of tenacity and resolve has struck many moviegoers -- and some elected officials -- as a powerful lesson in what it takes to succeed.

Last month, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, whose father was homeless for a while as a teenager, invited 15 homeless people to see the Will Smith film, calling it "a good way to illustrate that you can't really stereotype the homeless." On Jan. 13, D.C. Council member Kwame R. Brown (At Large) was the host of 115 area fathers and children at a local screening "to promote fatherhood," he said.

Yesterday's viewing, by about 120 people, resulted from a request by homeless activist Arafa Speaks. She presented the idea to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty at a recent Ward 1 meeting, and soon several D.C. agencies were onboard. The owner of the Phoenix Theatre Union Station 9 agreed to open the cinema for free, and other sponsors supplied bagels, sandwiches and drinks.

"It was God's idea. But since you can't touch Him, I'll just say it was my idea," said Speaks, 51, who has been homeless "off and on" since 1989. She had seen the movie once, she said, and thought others would like it and benefit from seeing it.

"We don't want people to think it's about becoming a millionaire," she said. "That man had integrity beyond measure. How many of us would put up with that situation without a cuss word? It took a spirit of steel."

Invitations to the movie were extended to residents of four shelters operated by the city -- the Dwelling Place Shelter for Abused Elderly, the Blair Shelter, the New York Avenue shelter and La Casa Shelter.

The moviegoers arrived at the theater in buses provided by the Department of Parks and Recreation and walked in single file through the corridors of the theater, past city employees there to advise them on health care, job opportunities and housing. Some said they had not seen a movie in years, but Clifford Durham, 60, said he had just seen "Dreamgirls." He thought it was "fine" but figured yesterday's movie would have a "deep" meaning.

"When you're on the outside looking in, you never know what the situation is till you're in it," said Durham, who has been homeless since September. "Never look down on people, my grandma always said, because you never know if their situation is going to hit you."

"The Pursuit of Happyness" shows in sad and unnerving detail how quickly a family living from paycheck to paycheck can plunge into despair. As Gardiner, played by Smith, tries to take care of his young son, serve an unpaid internship and sell medical equipment on the side, a series of issues -- including a stack of unpaid parking tickets -- pushes the family to the edge.

When a police officer suggests calling Social Services to pick up Gardiner's son after Gardiner is detained for the tickets, someone in the audience said loudly, "Whoa there." Later, when Gardiner triumphs and earns a full-time job at a financial firm, the audience clapped enthusiastically, and a voice from the middle rows said: "God is good. God is good."

Durham said the movie touched him. "See my face? See these tears?" he asked.

Whether a Hollywood tale of one man's triumph over adversity could translate to helping others sort out their lives was not debated much. Viewers spoke of being "inspired." Debra Daniels, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, said there had been no opposition to the outing, by shelter residents or the public. Speaks said the feedback was "nothing but favorable."

"The film in itself is inspiring for anyone who watches it," said MosesAlexander Greene, spokesman for the D.C. community relations office. "How much more poignant for those in the grips of homelessness."

Fenty did not attend the event, citing a scheduling conflict.

Several of the viewers said they felt encouraged by the movie as they quickly ate their chicken sandwiches before climbing back onto the buses. Michael Moss, 47, a former electronics engineer who hit hard times and has been homeless for eight months, said the movie "let everyone see how men do love their kids and the struggles they go through. Women go through a lot, too, but you don't hear about the men so much."

He said he planned to spend the rest of the afternoon looking for a job, then maybe go to the public library.

Seeing the movie "does encourage me to keep up when I'm knocked down. Keep getting up, hold your head high and never give up," he said.