Will Smith’s book precedes buzz movie
PHILADELPHIA — If you think Will Smith’s memoir, “Will,” is a juicy expose filled with details about his complicated marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith, you’ll be disappointed.
Smith is not here for that. The 412-page book is two parts Fresh Prince life story and one part self-help guide. The result: an honest, transparent and gentle look at how Smith, arguably the world’s biggest movie star, reveled in but is still recovering from his fame.
This is not who the public wants him to be. They want to know what he’s gonna do about Pinkett Smith’s 2020 affair with singer August Alsina. And fans are curious about Willow and Jaden’s public gender expression through fashion and art. Loyal Big Willie fans want explanations. Come on, Son. You owe us that.
Oprah Winfrey said “Will” was one of the best memoirs she’s ever read. Hardcore fans, however, are feeling some kind of way. This touchy-feely Smith — the scared boy, the young man filled with misplaced bravado — doesn’t make sense to them. But Will Smith is just being himself.
This more reflective Smith — straight up — doesn’t owe us anything, and frankly, he doesn’t care if we’re checking for him or not. The Will Smith of 2021 has boundaries. He’s identified and made peace with his demons. And “Will” is the first public stop on his new lifelong journey to self-awareness.
“I put my business in the street,” Smith shared with a packed house at the Met Philadelphia on Nov. 8, during the first stop on a multi-city book tour. Smith is in conversation with Queen Latifah, his peer in old-school hiphop and fellow Grammy-winning rap artist turned actor. Latifah gets Smith. And their rapport is natural. She, too, has spent much of the last 30 years in show biz dodging fans’ intrusive questions about her sexual orientation and maintains boundaries of her own.
“I got to the point where I had enough experiences, and I felt like I suffered enough and won enough so that I could share something to be helpful,” Smith said.
The second stop on Smith’s personal journey is the release of “King Richard” in theaters and streaming on HBO Max on Friday, Nov. 19. Smith stars as Richard Williams, tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams’ long-suffering father, a performance that is already garnering Oscar buzz.
Smith, 53, knows his quest for inner peace will continue as long as he’s living. But he does have a purpose: to find joy and help others. If the first part of Smith’s life was about winning, competing, and accumulating wealth, then the second part of his life is giving back, said Mark Manson, co-author of “Will.” Manson introduced Smith at the event.
“It’s really critical to suffer and overcome adversity,” Smith said at the Met. “The overcoming of adversity is how we gain wisdom. It’s how we gain understanding and sometimes we don’t want it. We don’t want to hurt like that. For some reason, that’s how God designed it, you know. The hurt is the road to heaven.”
Smith was able to embody the role of a beleaguered yet determined Williams because he grew up with a King Richard of his own, as did many successful Black people — especially Gen Xers.
Williams worked day and night and spent all of his spare time teaching his daughters to play tennis. He tried to show elite coaches how special his daughters were. Many laughed in his face. Williams was beaten by gang members after he tried to protect Venus and Serena from their crude advances.
The unrelenting focus on hard work, education, and sacrifice inspired Smith.
But Smith’s story is also universal in how pain drives excellence — particularly, Black excellence.
Willard Carroll Smith Sr. was a businessman who didn’t suffer fools and commanded his home like a sergeant. He grew up in North Philly during the 1940s and dealt with racism daily. Like Richard Williams, Willard Smith worked hard every day from sunup to sundown to pay off hard-won mortgages. In these homes, a good education and food on the table supersedes family vacations, self-expression, joy — and feelings.
Will Smith opens “Will” with the story of how his dad, who he lovingly refers to as Daddio, demanded that he and his brother, Harry, build a 12-by-20-foot brick wall at his refrigeration/ice-making business at 56th and Arlington streets in West Philadelphia. Every day for a year, they laid bricks and mortar. “We watched seasons change,” Smith said. But it taught him fortitude.