When Chris gets into the car after the football game, the bone scanner isn't in his lap. In the next shot, it is sitting on his lap.
Before Chris solves the Rubik's cube, he is talking to Jay Twistle on the sidewalk near the taxi. A man in a brown jacket and tie passes by, followed by a blonde in blue clothing. A few seconds later, they pass by again walking in the same direction. When Chris runs out of the building after saying he has learned to get his job done early to make it to the shelter in time, the same man and woman appear in the distance, walking together. Near the end of the movie, when Chris learns he got the job, he walks outside, into a crowd of people walking. One of the extras walking near Chris is the same blonde in the same blue clothing.
When Martin Frohm asks Chris to borrow $5 for the taxi, a red-headed woman in a burgundy jacket walks between the actors and the camera. In the next shot, she walks by again.
When Chris enters Martin Frohm's office after he is summoned, Martin comments on Chris' shirt ("nice shirt"), which is blue. However, when Chris leaves the office his shirt is white.
When Chris admires the stock broker in the red sports car, the stock broker parks his car several feet behind another car. In the next shot, from across the street, the red sports car is just a few inches behind the other car. In the next shot, back to the original location, it is several feet away.
In one scene, the train doors close on Chris Gardner's hand while he is holding a bone scanner. He doesn't let go, and the train departs with the doors partially open. That would never happen in real life; BART trains are designed not to move if the doors of any car are obstructed.
In reality, Chris's internship was not unpaid.
When Smith purchases a new lamp for the scanner and is on the bus, he holds it up to the camera and shows it to be a Xenon tube, the sort used for strobe lights and camera flash. Later on after he repairs the scanner and switches it on, it shows as continuously illuminated. This type of lamp is a high speed discharge lamp that can only flash and lighting it continuously would melt it in seconds.
When the Gardners leave for the football game in Walter Ribbon's Mercedes, the license plate is for a truck, not a car.
Chris takes his bone density scanner from the hippie on the bus. As he walks out, if you listen very closely, a woman whispers "is that Will Smith?"
When Chris and his son are denied a room at the shelter, a homeless guy hits a parking meter, which wiggles like it is made of rubber.
When little Chris' mother carries him in the bedroom and puts him in bed, he is supposed to be asleep. However, he lifts both of his legs up to avoid the side of the bed.
At the subway, Christopher is sitting on the bench with his legs crossed, showing the soles of his sneakers. They are clean, as if they were brand-new.
Chris cashes several checks at a convenience store. Each time the cashier counts out the amount of the check. In reality, the store would charge a fee for cashing the check.
The original Rubik's cube did not have a logo on the center white square.
Will Smith's character's car is "booted" and towed away due to unpaid parking tickets. San Francisco began using the Denver Boot in the mid 1990's.
When Chris is having Mr. Frakesh's car moved, a 1991 Honda Accord is parked between the other cars.
At Candlestick Park, there is a 49ers logo that was introduced in 1996.
In 1981, most of the buildings in the San Francisco skyline shots were not yet completed.
When Chris enters the firm for the first time, covered in paint, he turns the corner of cubicles while following the assistant. A crew member in a green shirt, black pullover, and red hat, retreats behind a pillar underneath the stock ticker.
When Chris enters the day care center to pick up his son, the cameraman and camera are reflected in the window.
During the Rubix cube scene between Gardner and Twistle, the outside view reveals reflections of the taxi being towed on a film production trailer.
In the beginning, a person walks from a subway station while eating UTZ potato chips. UTZ chips are not available on the West Coast.
When Chris visits the doctor who buys his last machine, the abdominal x-ray hanging in the background is upside-down. The pelvis and bladder should be at the bottom, not the top.
In reality, Christopher, Jr. was an infant during this time in their lives.
In reality, Chris and Linda were never married.
When the stock broker stops his sports car and gets out, it rolls back, as if the hand brake has not been applied.
if the Gardeners are having difficulties paying their bills, Linda shouldn't be spending their limited money on cigarettes.