I’ve talked about this in the past, but I’m not much of a Will Smith fan. It’s one of those irrational dislikes similar to Ben Affleck or Shia LaBeouf. I kind of stay quite about it and don’t exploit it for the comic because I know I am in the minority on this one.

How could anyone hate Will Smith? Well, “hate” is a strong word, but, generally, he creeps me out. I’m impressed with his story and how he found his way to fame. I think he manages his career very carefully and is smart about his choices. He stays out of trouble and promotes an uplifting example to others. But I simply don’t trust anyone who is that happy all all of the time. Sometimes it seems genuine, other times it seems fake. I’m not talking about his movie roles. Which, to his credit, seem to be taking a darker turn lately. Just watch the guy in interviews sometime and tell me it isn’t exhausting.

It’s probably just sour grapes. If I starred in a string of hits that have earned more than $100 million at the box office over the last 12 years, I probably wouldn’t have much to complain about, either. I should probably just stick to talking about his movies anyway.

I’ll admit that when I saw the trailer for Seven Pounds that I was sucked in by the mystery of the title. The trailer was also very tense and very well put together. But the more I thought about it, the more it started to look like The Pursuit of Happyness II – Get Happy. Maybe that’s deliberate as both movies share the same director in Gabriele Muccino. After reading movie blogs for a while, people started to guess what the title refers to and a few of them fell into place. I lost interest after that. It’s almost as if they knew the mystery behind the title was their biggest bargaining chip.

Reviews for Seven Pounds have been largely negative. Many critics are attacking it for being at once schmaltzy and ghoulish. Some say Smith is pandering for an Oscar (he may have missed his best chance after Ali). Ultimately, this one looks like a no-go.

I’m not exactly happy about that, in case you thought I was celebrating, or something. I saw The Pursuit of Happyness in theaters and liked it. But my radar was beeping on Seven Pounds. Something felt a little off about it and now I think I understand what it is. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

That’s all for me today. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again on Monday!