Jack Goes Confidential: ‘JOBS’ Bio-Drama Delivers — Up To A Point

“Steve, you’re good. Damn good.. But you’re an asshole.”

One of the defining lines thrown at Steve Jobs by an inner circle member of his legendary Apple Computer empire.

JOBS is a small—and I stress SMALL—biographical drama based on the life of the legendary, entrepreneurial visionary, covering a span from the early 70’s until the introduction of the Ipod in 2000.

Matter of fact, the movie begins with Jobs’ introductory remarks for the revolutionary music device—or as he put it, “It’s a thousand songs in your pocket.”

And a tip of the hat to Ashton Kutcher who got Steve Jobs’ looks and mannerisms down to a tee.

From there we go back in time, to the beginnings and Jobs creative days in his boyhood home’s garage where he and partner Steve Wozniak dreamed up and created the magic.

And despite Wozniak’s wishes to brand their working systems with Star Trek like spaceship names, Jobs would have none of it settling instead on the simple Apple name.

So there they were, Jobs, surrounded by a handful of nerds, creating what some day would turn into “social currency.”

Perfecting the personal computuer and going straight for IBM’s throat.

“We’re working in a market that doesn’t exist yet.”

Against that pressure cooker, Jobs turned into a time bomb. His board of directors turned against him and unceremoniously dumped him from the company he had created.

But without Jobs’ foresight and vision, Apple’s sales and stock tanked prompting the board to bring him back into the fold, this time on his terms.

It’s all there – from the balls to the wall developmental days of the Macintosh and its stunning Orwellian debut marketing campaign.

And, of course, Jobs hated everything Bill Gates.

All that plus a pounding 70’s classic rock soundtrack and a fitting supporting cast including Matthew Modine as John Scully, Dermot Mullroney as Mike Markkula and John Gad as Steve Wozniak, among other original Apple staffers.

I enjoyed the picture and found many aspects of it interesting, if not fascinating. But I sorta felt let down with its puny ending.

If I really wanted to be honest about the film, I’d say that it has more of a look and feel of a made for TV movie. Something I’d expect to see on the BIO or HISTORY channel maybe.

Nevertheless the picture held my interest all through its two hour running time.

JOBS. He made Apple cool—again. The film garners a solid C from this reviewer.

(Previewed at AMC Town Center, Leawood.)

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