It was only a matter of time until a movie about the life of Apple co-founder and influential creator, Steve Jobs, hit the big screen. Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, and starring Ashton Kutcher as Jobs, the film has been looked at from a distance, with a watchful eye. There were many skeptics doubting that Ashton Kutcher was right for the job (aside from being a uncanny doppelganger), practically dismissing the film before it ever came out. With all the great things that Steve Jobs had achieved in his lifetime, he deserves a telling of his story that is as imaginative and thought provoking as he was. Unfortunately, Jobs is not the film to do it.
Jobs begins in 2001, with Steve Jobs introducing the iPod for the first time at a conference in Apple Town Hall. It reminds us just how revolutionary the iPod was, and how influential this man was. From there we are taken all the way back to the 70s when Jobs was an aloof college student at Reed College. He dropped out, but still hung around campus taking in classes and socializing. He then goes to India with his friend Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas). We see him take acid with Daniel and his girlfriend Chris-Ann Brennan (Ahna O’Reilly). The film doesn’t glorify Jobs to be some kind of saint. He cheats on his girlfriend and often comes off as rude and often pretentious, which many would attest that he was.
In this sense, the casting of Kutcher is right. He has the personality to play the cocky, egotistical, side of Jobs that allow Kutcher to stay in his wheelhouse. It’s just when we get to the more emotional scenes, such as when his girlfriend, Chris, tells him she’s pregnant with his child, where we see that there’s only so much that likeness can get you. No one can deny Kutcher’s uncanny resemblance to Jobs. But it’s not enough to forgive Kutcher’s limits as a dramatic actor.
Surrounding Steve are Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad), an old friend of Jobs and eventual co-founder of Apple, along with characters played by Daniel Kottke, Ron Eldard, Victor Rasuk, and Eddie Hassell, all a part of the early team that brings Apple to creation in Jobs’ parents garage. Soon investor Mike Markkula (Dermot Mulroney) discovers them, providing the investment that springs Apple into full motion. These scenes are for the most part lighthearted and fun. As they should be, since a good part of rest of the film is a cyclic downer where we see Jobs’ demise in the company as his methods and techniques bud in the way of how the board members want to run it. Jobs sees his risks as his chance to create the unthinkable, while all they see is money evaporating. His role in the company becomes less and less, until there is nothing left for him. We all know how the rest of the story plays out however.
Unfortunately for the film, it never finds it groove and is missing a serious spark or dramatic touch that leaves it somewhat incomplete. At times it almost felt like a movie that would be well suited for TV. Although built with a mostly likeable cast, no one’s performance in the film jumped out at me aside from Josh Gad and Dermot Mulroney who were both excellent. Kutcher’s dramatic efforts, especially scenes where he is forced to cry, are painful to watch. It’s too bad, because he had down Jobs’ swagger and attitude (down to the way he Walked and other mannerisms). But at the end of the day, I felt he came a bit shy of capturing the essence of Jobs, and failed to properly handle the scenes that called for dramatic acting.
Jobs isn’t a terrible film, it’s just rather unremarkable considering the potential at hand. A biopic about Steve Jobs should not feel forgettable, he deserves more. It’s a shame, but not all is lost, as Aaron Sorkin is currently working on his own telling of Jobs life story. Ashton Kutcher may resemble the look of Jobs but a film about Steve Jobs should be more than just superficiality, and take a little bit of risk with its imagination in order to break the boundaries that Jobs himself always broke free from.
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