[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrvkCS0ZGPU]
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern
Starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad, and Dermot Mulroney
Rating: C-
It’s hard to do movies about people like Steve Jobs. Living a life in the spotlight, Jobs brings to light the rather rocky yet illustrious chronicles of a genius. As a slave to the company that is Apple, I was curious to see what this biopic would show.
So, first thing’s first, the brilliant casting of Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. Not only does the man look like a long lost twin of the man, but he got the mannerisms and walk and talk down. The casting for the rest of the team was great as well. When the movie was over, they did one of those side-by-side pictures and it was kind of creepy. Kutcher, who I’ve always been on the fence about, won me over with his performance as Jobs.
That being said, this movie brought to light the darker side of Apple. Much like The Social Network, this wasn’t just a story that highlighted a man’s life, but it also brought the reality of a human’s life to the public. But unlike the acclaimed movie, Jobs started high but never quite met the emotional expectations it built throughout the film. But, from the founding of the company, Jobs’ quirks and obsession, his passion for design and perfection, his alienation, then to his return to Apple. It’s a fairly accurate depiction of the man’s life.
A lot of people give Apple shit. In the computing world, it’s often been laughed at and waved off as a shiny waste of money. Ask any tech nerd out there, they’ll tell you that they’ll take a PC any day. But as a nerd and a lover of Apple, this movie proved exactly why I love Apple. They took into consideration things that companies like IBM, Dell, and Microsoft forgot.
Design is important. Aesthetic is important. Hell, font type is important. I knew I would agree with this aspect of the movie before I even saw it, partially because they showed the scene in which Jobs fires a man for shrugging off the importance of font type. Is it also to show his obsession with perfection? Sure. But I can’t help but agree with the man. Everything was important to him. He looked forward when most people looked back.
Now, do I love the man after watching the movie? No. He refused to acknowledge his own daughter. He cheated on his girlfriend. He betrayed his friends. He was obnoxious and rude. But half of the movie is about that, the other half is about a man who never gave up and never settled for average. And that is something to aspire to.
The second half of the movie feels cheesier than it needs to be, with Jobs rehabilitated after being forced out of Apple. This is mostly because the movie lacks any emotional attachment Jobs may have had with humans and replaces it with corporate business.
Pros: Great performance by Kutcher, and a big kudos to the makeup team on this one.
A fairly accurate story, not too much sugar coating.
Kutcher’s last monologue of Think Different is inspirational for a designer and an honorable homage to a legend. Kutcher may have initially been shaky, vocally, but gained great momentum speaking as the voice of Jobs.
Josh Gad and Ashton Kutcher have a brilliant chemistry as Steve “Woz” Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
Cons: I couldn’t bring myself to care about the corporate competition.
Never brought enough emotion to the script since there didn’t seem to be one whole story glueing the movie together.
Should have been named Apple, since it focused more on the company than the man it was suppose to be spotlighting.
Conclusion: They could have had some great scenes and strung together a story about redemption and ambition. There needed to be a great scene of Jobs and his daughter, and while the one they got was sweet, it left much to be desired.
I found myself clawing and hoping for more of Steve Jobs the person, not Steve Jobs the figurehead. Some of the most heart-wrenching parts of the movie were when we got to see him as a human rather than just a corporate figurehead. Apple lovers might enjoy this movie, but I’m looking forward to the next film on Jobs, with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
English