Jobs (2013)
Starring Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, Matthew Modine, J.K. Simmons, Lesley Ann Warren, Ron Eldard, and Ahna O'Reilly
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***
The best I can say about Ashton Kutcher's portrayal of Steve Jobs is that he's at least
trying. In fact, it's so obvious he's
trying that I never once felt that I was watching anything other than an aspiring thespian attempting to act and emote his way through the life story of the founder of Apple computers. I'm sure Kutcher studied Jobs' motions, mannerisms, and dialect, but he never embodies the man -- he comes across as some lower-grade B-movie actor attempting to be older and wiser (which is pretty darn accurate to the actor Kutcher is in general).
Putting aside Kutcher's sometimes laughable performance (man, when he tries to cry, it's painfully hilarious),
Jobs as a movie just isn't good either. The film begins by delving a little bit into Jobs' personal life, but that aspect thankfully is pushed to the wayside about thirty minutes in, focusing instead on the more boring (but less corny) incorporation of Apple as a company. From that point on, it's just a series of "battles" Jobs must duke it out amongst his colleagues as they fail to see his vision for what Apple and its computers were meant to be in his eyes.
Listen...I'm an Apple guy all the way. I have been forever and likely always will be. While the film did make me want to read the giant Steve Jobs biography that came out a few years ago, director Joshua Michael Stern simply doesn't have the goods to deliver here. The film plays out very by the book (a discredit to the screenwriter as well -- Matt Whiteley in his debut) and Stern doesn't do a thing to differentiate itself from anything we've seen before. Just when one conflict is resolved, we move on to the next one. Scenes are bathed in appropriate lighting (dark for somber moments and glorious golden for the happier ones), coupled with soaring or pensive music in a very paint-by-numbers manner that's not the least bit innovative or imaginative. For a film that focuses on a guy who was all about thinking outside of the box,
Jobs is anything but that.
The RyMickey Rating: D+
