Jobs
Ashton
Kutcher stars as
Steve Jobs, and the audience gets to watch the
smirky-faced actor, producer and very good investor play the corporate
titan throughout the growth of Apple computers from his
father’s
garage to the ultimate failure of being fired from the company he
created to the rebirth of a legend. And, along the way, we learn Steve
Jobs was a jerk (A really big jerk! A really big jerky jerk-faced
jerk!).
That’s the whole movie.
Writer Matt Whiteley and director Joshua Michael Stern don’t
really give Jobs
a storyline, we just follow the timeline
highlighting the moments that made Apple what it is, and
Jobs’
horrible personal relationships with just about everyone in his life,
but Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad), who was the technical genius behind the
products.
Frankly,
we needed to see more of that relationship. Jobs
is
fascinating as we watch the two become this amazing, historic dynamic
duo, so clearly each needing the other. Stern takes us into the quiet
moments where Woz showcases his technical acumen that changed the way
we look at computers, while Jobs is the brains to perceive what the
public wants, sell it to them and sell it to the investors and
retailers.
The relationship also brings out the best in Gad and Kutcher. Gad fills
Woz with a nerdy lovability that never demeans the genius, and helps
novices understand his vital role in the revolution Jobs so often is
credited with (I guess that’s what happens you are the one
giving
all of the interviews and introducing the products).
You are left wanting more, and kind of wondering if Steve Jobs would
have been a different, possibly better, person with more Woz in his
life (the real life Woz is involved with an Aaron Sorkin-led biopic of
Jobs, so maybe he was cut out here on purpose?).
Meanwhile, Kutcher, solid throughout the movie (for the most part),
gets a chance to stand out for a few moments, which isn’t
always
the case in Jobs
for any actor. The movie doesn’t rely on
a great performance from Kutcher or anyone in the cast. Whiteley and
Stern are more than happy to let the events capture our attention
rather than giving Kutcher some big, meaty scenes that define the
character and shock us. He mostly pulls it off in ways that haters will
be left disappointed.
Jobs
loses steam after a massive climactic
battle over control of Apple, and never really shows the Steve Jobs
years between the firing and the comeback, which could have been
compelling and vital to understanding the guy who made us fall in love
with our iPods.
Jobs
is rated PG-13 for some drug content and
brief strong language.
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