Seven Pounds

What’s the Story?

The sole survivor of a fatal car crash that killed his fiancee and six others, moody IRS auditor Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is wholly focused on finding "good people" to help in extremely personal, unbelievably generous ways -- like forgiving a beautiful-but-sick woman's (Rosario Dawson) back-taxes or giving an abused single mother his luxury beach house. He's also donating an organ to a beloved local basketball coach he barely knows. As Ben says about another possible recipient of his selflessness: "It is within my power to drastically change his circumstances." But as this mysterious drama unfolds, it becomes clear that Ben isn't exactly as he seems -- and that his purpose, while noble, is also morbid and heartbreaking.

Is It Any Good?

Smith usually comes through, but watching him mope around for two hours is neither believable nor inspiring. What begins as a suspense-filled drama devolves into a "very special episode" of Grey's Anatomy or ER (let's leave the spoilers at that). It's not that the cast doesn't act well, because Smith, Dawson, Woody Harrelson (a blind man Ben takes an interest in), Michael Ealy (Ben's brother), and Barry Pepper (Ben's best friend) are all talented performers. The story is the main problem -- instead of being powerful and thought-provoking, as director Gabriele Muccino aims, it's saccharine and phony.

Although Smith, a two-time Academy-Award nominee, is up to dramatic roles -- and it's understandable why he'd re-team with Muccino, his Pursuit of Happyness director -- he's built his superstardom on playing the hopeful hero. Ben is a hero, but he's so depressed (and depressing); fatalistic audiences may consider Smith miscast. Tortured and bereaved looks good on Sean Penn, Benico Del Toro, and Don Cheadle. But Smith? Not so much.