Seen on: December 20, 2008

The players: Director: Gabriele Muccino, Writer: Grant Nieporte, Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, Robinne Lee

Facts of interest: Muccino also directed Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness."

The plot: Smith plays a troubles IRS agent who decides to forever change the lives of seven strangers.

Our thoughts: Following their collaboration in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” Will Smith reteams with Italian filmmaker Gabriele Muccino for “Seven Pounds,” an overlong, mushy drama that wastes two hours following a desperate man on his quest to personal redemption. That’s right, if you love seeing Smith making the same sorrowful face and break out in tears throughout an entire movie, this one’s for you.

Smith stars as Ben Thomas, an unhappy IRS agent with a big secret. I won’t tell you what his secret is though, because it would probably spoil the entire movie. But what I can say without giving away too much is this: Thomas finds himself in a miserable situation, and in order to seek peace in his own mind, he heads out to forever change the lives of seven unlucky strangers who deserve a break.

“Pounds” spends most of its running time showing in what ways Ben helps the strangers he selected, with occasional flashbacks interrupting the main story line to let viewers know what really happened to Ben in the first place. It’s obvious Muccino and screenwriter Grant Nieporte try to keep it all secret until the very end, but if you pay close attention, Smith’s general attitude and a few other scenes will help you figure it all out early on already.

While it seems certainly admirable that this strange man wants to give less privileged people a life-changing gift, watching him do exactly that for two hours is hardly entertaining. It’s a shame we never get a detailed enough insight into what makes Ben tick, because the decisions he makes to achieve his unusual goal seem a little too unrealistic. Just wait until you see what he does during the film’s dramatic climax, and you’ll know what I mean.

Smith is certainly a fine actor who can deliver a fabulous performance if he picks an interesting enough project, but “Seven Pounds” is not that project. His faithful fans will probably cry along with him throughout the entire film, but in my opinion, he just tries a little too hard this time. Luckily, there’s Rosario Dawson, who delivers total charm as one of Ben’s seven chosen ones. Without her character, the movie would certainly fall apart within the first 20 minutes.

Freaky quote: “It is within my power to drastically change his cirumstances, but I don't want to give that man a gift he doesn't deserve." – Will Smith

The final word: This is about as far as I’ll go talking about “Seven Pounds,” because every extra word could potentially reveal something you may want to discover yourself. That is, if you’re a die-hard Will Smith fan. If you couldn’t care less about him, I wouldn’t even bother paying to see this saccharine drama. Disagree with me on this one if you would like, but I found Ben’s plan to seek his spiritual redemption to be utterly ridiculous. Whatever he does in this movie, DON’T try it at home!

Article by Franck Tabouring