“Hi, I’m Dawn, and I’m a PC. With the exception of my ipod, I’ve never been a Mac girl. I think for a while I just associated them too much with school, since that used to be the only place you’d use them. Doesn’t mean I don’t have respect for the man behind them.
There was a time when I used to say that I wanted to be a “”computer systems analyst””. I didn’t quite know what it meant, but I knew I wanted to work with computers, and it sounded good. Then I saw Pirates of the Silicon Valley, a tv movie that had Noah Wyle and Anthony Michael Hall as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and I was bored out of my mind. Incidentally, I did end up working in computers, but getting there was a bit more roundabout. But that’s neither here nor there.
Steve Jobs is remembered for being an innovator and dreamer. He’s also got a reputation for being a bit of a hard ass. The movie worked to capture both of those sides…and not much else. Really, I think every single shot or line of dialog was meant to convey one or the other. Nothing more, nothing less. And it made the whole thing feel very contrived.
I also had a hard time following some of the details around the computer creations at the beginning. I guess I’m just a bad techno geek in that I don’t know my computer history, but I couldn’t get my head around exactly what those original computers were meant to do. Nor could I understand how they knew what they were doing. It may not have been that important to the plot, but it was enough to keep me annoyed and distracted.
There was some controversy over casting Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. Of course when you cast a big name celebrity to play a big name figure, there’s going to be debate. And Kutcher’s tabloid antics and offscreen personality tends to overshadow his on screen persona. However, I thought he did well, at least given what he had to work with. He was able to tone down his usual larger than life self and fit into the shy and quiet geek role. From the little I know of Jobs and his mannerisms, it seemed as though Kutcher nailed those as well.
However, the real heart and soul of the movie was Josh Gad as Steve “”Woz”” Wozniak. Anytime he was on screen, I paid attention. I am more familiar with Woz, given his stint on Dancing With the Stars (He may have stunk on the dance floor, but his sweet child-like personality lit up the ballroom). And Gad brought that same spark and joy.
While I was interested watching this movie, I’m still waiting for the Jobs biopic that Aaron Sorkin is penning. Fairly confidient that will prove to be the superior one
jOBS – \m/ \m/ \n