Review: STEVE JOBS Is Humanized By Aaron Sorkin

Laughs were aplenty in the theater I shared with those at the advanced screening of Steve Jobs. I wasn't laughing, but I was in the minority in the film's opening minutes. People laughed as Michael Fassbender played the iconic Apple co-founder, as he nitpicked the opening sequence of the iMac demo. The laughs continued through much of the opening of the film. About midway through, with Jobs' encounter with high school lover Chrisann Brennan the laughs ceased. We watched Fassbender switch gears and become irate at his ex's insistence that Lisa, Brennan's daughter, was his as well.

Everyone then clued into the reason why I wasn't laughing from the start, this guy isn't some goofy visionary with a good heart. He's an asshole.

And that's the biggest strength of this film. While it would be in Apple's best interest to paint their departed icon as the tech God of the 21st century, this film services his legacy in reminding America he was just a man. Steve Jobs was cocky, prone to setting himself up to failure, and not always a good father. We see the good and the bad spanning nearly 20 years of his life, and it feels real, even if it isn't. Humanizing Jobs does more of a service to future generations who wish to attain his success than pretending he was infallible. So when Tim Cook wants to get in your ear and tells you, "Jobs was a joy for all that knew him." Tell him what Jobs often told Wozniak when "technology isn't art"...

"F*** YOU!"

In Cook's defense, you definitely get the sense Sorkin has an axe to grind against Apple. I find it no coincidence that we see a scene where Jobs tells recently fired CEO John Sculley that Newton failed "because it had a stylus and we have these (fingers)" and Apple just happened to be developing a pen for use in smart phones. Maybe I have a tinfoil hat on, and Jobs was on record in saying that, but I definitely felt a biting malice in that instance.

For those who aren't aware, this is not a cohesive story. You'll be getting a glimpse of Jobs in 5 different sections of his life. We all have seen the keynotes and products, now we see what happened behind the scenes of those events. Granted, we get a version told through mainly the eyes of the public record, Aaron Sorkin, and Steve Wozniak.

Speaking of Wozniak, Seth Rogen really knocks it out of the park with his portrayal. The conversations between him and Fassbender throughout the film were often the high point, and the tension mixed with friendship really was sold well on screen. I felt the heart and emotion in his voice where you consistently felt he was inches away from writing a longtime friend out of his life. Did he still sound like Rogen? Yeah... but Fassbender doesn't even look like Jobs, so it evens out.

The film plays out much like an episode of The Newsroom, which is appropriate as actors who auditioned read an episode script as opposed to the film script. There's fast walking, fast talking, and everyone is quick-witted. Of course, the comparison is even more made with the appearance of Jeff Daniels. Not saying the Newsroom similarity is bad, but if you're looking for a slowdown or explanation of the action on screen, look elsewhere, because they're not holding your hands.

For all the talking and walking I have to say the action on the screen was never dull. Danny Boyle was able to shoot a whole film in one location with James Franco and rocks, so this one must've been easy for him. Two hours went by fairly fast and by the end I felt I was given an honest and (mostly) unbiased opinion on the life of Steve Jobs. It's worth a watch in theaters if you're a fan of Sorkin's products and not under the illusion that Jobs did indeed hang the moon, but instead realize that he was just a man who changed the world. I found it refreshing, and a great change of pace.

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