‘Jobs’ is not the biopic the man deserves

Jobs is the true story of a visionary who set out to change the world, and did. The film chronicles Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) transformation of character from the enthusiasm and self-discovery of his youth, to the personal demons that clouded his vision, and finally to the ultimate triumphs of his later life. Jobs changed the way we see the world today through his relentless drive, passion, persistence, and the force of his will, and it is through these qualities that we draw inspiration from his life.

Jobs is a fluffy and ideal version of the story of Steve Jobs that barely scratches the surface of the Apple computers pioneer. Kutcher is actually making an effort here to do something more meaningful with his performance, but in the few instances where the film becomes serious it becomes more and more evident that he is completely lost and in way over his head. The script does Kutcher no favors either as it starts with the launch of the first Ipod then flashes back to the beginnings of Apple and covers the ground to when Jobs returns to Apple in the 90’s. During this time frame only the major points of the story are hit upon with increasingly little shown about his private life and nothing covered after the Ipod launch.

The one stand out here is Josh Gad’s turn as Steve Wozniak, Jobs’ partner in starting the company and the main force behind bringing Jobs’ ideas to fruition for many of the formative years. Gad is terrific in the role and easily outshines Kutcher whenever they are on screen together. Dermott Mulroney does some decent work in the thankless role of a member of the board of directors that excises Jobs then later rehires him. The makeup and effects work here, utilized in an attempt to make the actors looking like their real life counter parts, are laughably bad as Kutcher and Gad’s fake beards look like they may fall of at any moment.

The Blu Ray includes only one special feature, a pretty standard making of feature, and not much else. The film Jobs , much like the disc’s features, offers very little to grab on to and no new information about the man who inspired the film. Attempting a film on one of the most recognizable figures of the last decade or two seemed daunting enough to begin with but the results fall so flat that you wonder if it was an idea that should have even been considered in the first place. Save the performance from Josh Gad there really isn’t much here.

Till Next Time

Movie Junkie TO

Follow me directly on twitter @moviejunkieto and by liking my Facebook page at Movie Junkie TO

Email me at moviejunkieto@gmail.com