Starring Ashton Kutcher, Josh Gad
Directed by Joshua Michael Stern
Groundbreaking and innovative are two words that have become synonymous with Apple co-founder and technological visionary Steve Jobs; unfortunately his big screen biopic is neither.
Ashton Kutcher, best known for portraying the goofy stoner from That 70s Show and boorish prankster on MTVs Punkd, attempts to fill some very big shoes but ends up biting off more than he can chew.The major disappointment, whether it was director Joshua Michael Sterns coaching or Kutchers desire to impersonate, is how much his forced performance comes off as a whitewashed caricature of a complicated and dynamic individual.
The film follows the entrepreneurs days as a barefoot college dropout, in scenes that could have been plucked from the stars former sitcom, to his rise to become one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century.There is so much ground to cover that large chunks are merely glossed over or dropped in favour of piecemeal exchanges that always seem to involve a boardroom full of executives.
The movie, however, is not without a few charms. Josh Gad is exceptional, if not better, as sidekick and protégé Steve Wozniak and several scenes epitomize what a game changer Jobs was with confident precision thanks to some bright spots in an otherwise dull script.The life of Steve Jobs is no doubt a fascinating and engaging story for film purposes; its just too bad the final product feels like a cobbled together movie of the week.
