Jobs Review
RYAN: This is the new biopic about Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, starring Ashton Kutcher.
CAROLINE: It just smacks of desperation for an Oscar nomination, right? I mean, no one takes him seriously as an actor; so to take on the role of a famous dead person is just the formula, isn’t it?
RYAN: Oh completely. Ashton is an over-achiever. He’s a producer and and actor, a competent comedic talent… but I’ve never really been a big fan. I once interviewed him alongside Brittany Murphy for their film Just Married and he was a bit of a clown in the interview. I give him points for dating Mila though.
CAROLINE: Well stop beating around the bush – how is he in this movie?
RYAN: Fair. He has a few, a very few, moments that are inspired. He goes way over-the-top with the “Steve Jobs hunch and walk,” he affects his voice. But overall, he’s still very much just Ashton Kutcher and it’s not a great performance. He’s not portraying Steve Jobs. This is Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs.
CAROLINE: Not surprised. How is the movie?
RYAN: It’s a bit of a mess. It’s not so much a biopic of Mr. Jobs as much as an overblown timeline of the Apple company.
CAROLINE: That’s misleading.
RYAN: There are a bunch of bad montages throughout the film that awkwardly try to propel the movie forward, but they are edited poorly and the music is annoying and it’s like, about the building of the tech board inside of a computer. I was, like, “WT Why?”
CAROLINE: That’s so random. I wonder what went wrong.
RYAN: It’s bad direction. There is an absolute perspective and commitment to the story and action but it doesn’t work. It could have been and should have been so much better. You don’t ever really feel for Steve and you have to care about him for this film to work. You need to root for him. There were ups and downs in his life as relates to his work with Apple but you just watch dumbstruck versus feeling invested in it. That’s a major problem for a film.
CAROLINE: Yeah the best movies are the ones that sweep you up into them – not keep you outside as a bystander.
RYAN: Exactly. There is a really great supporting cast – Dermot Mulroney, James Woods, Matthew Modine, Tony nominee Josh Gad from Broadway’s The Book of Mormon, and others. The crew did a great job getting all the actors to look like the real people they portrayed.
CAROLINE: That’s a plus.
RYAN: I can’t comment on how accurate this film is but they really make him out to be a total jerk; a brilliant, inspired, major arse.
CAROLINE: [laughs’ That’s not very kind.
RYAN: Maybe he was though. I never read his book. And for all that I love Apple and am a staunch supporter of their products, this movie didn’t take you up to date. You feel like it should but it ends in the 90’s. That’s incredibly frustrating. I wanted to see the iPhone.
CAROLINE: This doesn’t sound good.
RYAN: It’s not. I’m quite disappointed in this movie. It’s a huge missed opportunity. When biopics are done right they can become awards bait. This one doesn’t stand a chance.
