JOBS
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, J.K. Simmons
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[rating: 2.5/5]
Some people may cry ‘too soon’ when they see the biopic for a man who died less than two years ago, and they may be right. Can JOBS tastefully pay homage to one of the most influential people of the 21st century, or will it fall into soppy sentimentality that’s simply cashing in on a famous name before it fades into obscurity?
Stephen Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) is just your average uni student from the 70s aka a uni drop-out with filthy hair that walks around bare-foot annexing whichever classes take his fancy. Stephen eventually takes an interest in computers and design, soon getting a job at Atari developing games with the help of his good friend Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad). Recognising talents and promise in his friend, Jobs then convinces Steve to start their own business in his Parent’s garage where they start to compile the first ‘Apple’ computer with the help of a few random friends. Things escalate quickly as these kids take the world by storm with their new financing partner Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney). Jobs starts to change though, as the pressures to succeed transforms him from his usual free-spirit hippy self into a slightly egotistic hard ass who pointedly tucks his shirts in. He even goes as far as to ignore a pregnancy from his ex-girlfriend Laurence (Abby Brammell) as to not jeopardise his productivity and career. Everything goes relatively smoothly until Jobs encounters troubles with a snake in the grass Board Member, Arthur Rock (J.K. Simmons), who wants Jobs out of the game.
A great deal of whether this film works or not lies on the shoulders of Ashton. After a few teasing glimpses as the film opens, we get the first shot of him as an older Jobs; his hair greyed, sporting the trade-mark black skivvy and rimless glasses and, unfortunately, it’s not very convincing. It just looks and sounds like Kutcher is wearing a Steve Jobs Halloween costume, which only adds to the naff-ness of a crowd of people applauding a man holding an iPod, the sheer beauty of it and its brilliance bringing the crowd to tears. Fortunately, as the film goes on Kutcher can actually be seen embodying this man in his younger years. Instead of trying really hard to look like him, he goes for the smarmy, charming and egotistical Jobs that we’ve heard tales about and manages to pull off an impressive performance.
The problem with JOBS isn’t in the performances, though, so much as it’s representation of the man himself. It’s not a very flattering portrayal at all, in fact, it most often portrays him as a lying, egotistical dick with no sense of loyalty. This wouldn’t be a problem, so much, if it didn’t then sometimes swing to him being an infallible and inspirational figure who seems to be no less than a god among men. There is very little middle ground between these two portrayals of the man, something that leaves an otherwise solid and entertaining biopic with an odd aftertaste. That said, it does feel like the film-makers desired to make as accurate a portrayal of Jobs as possible, even if it meant showing the warts-and-all version. In a way, it gives the movie a level of integrity that it wouldn’t have achieved if it got bogged down in too much sentimentality.
Perhaps it’s for the best, but, JOBS does cut the story a little too short and leaves you wishing you could see that bit more and follow this man through to the bitter-sweet end. The movie is entertaining enough, though, and Apple fans will get a kick out of it. Hell, even if you’re not a big fan of Apple, there’s an inescapable nostalgia to seeing all of these clunky old machines evolve towards what we have today and peeking into the life of the man that helped make it happen.
