Jobs: Nothing We Haven’t Seen Before

It has become harder to find someone who does not own anything from the tech mega-giant Apple. Even for those who do not own any Apple products, Apple has set the bar higher across the entire computing industry. As someone who has always wanted to learn more about Steve Jobs, I jumped at the chance to review Jobs. While it tells a dramatic and intriguing story, the title of “Jobs” might be misleading, as the film focuses mainly on how Jobs played an instrumental role in launching Apple instead of exploring what might have motivated and driven this entrepreneur to revolutionize user interface and technology.

After dropping out of Reed College, Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) spends his time auditing courses and experimenting with psychedelics with his pal, Daniel Kottke (Lukas Haas) and his girlfriend, Chris-Ann (Ahna O’Reilly). To the great dismay of his professors, Steve believes that a college degree does not necessarily enrich the individual. Steve and Daniel go on a spiritual journey in India. When he comes back, Steve starts working for Atari. Headstrong and losing patience with his co-workers, Steve asks for his own project. His boss asks him to build a circuit board for a video game. With the help of his friend, Steve Wozniak or “Woz,” (Josh Gad) he manages to meet his tight deadline. He also discovers Woz’s side project of building a personal computer. After asking Woz to present his invention at the Homeview Computer Club at Stanford, they get their first customer. Steve makes sales pitches to numerous people and catches the attention of their first investor, Mike Makkula (Dermot Mulroney).

Brilliant, willful, and driven, Steve isn’t afraid to push the envelope and fire people who see things from a different angle. He is far from generous, as he gives minimal credit to his co-founders. However, his vision and leadership is thoroughly admirable. His decisions, which are at times morally reprehensible, suggest that success can come in multiple forms. It reminded me of the old saying that nice guys finish last. Steve’s ongoing conflicts with the board of directors, including Arthur Rock (J.K. Simmons), become a barrier to his endeavors. Arthur refers to Steve as a “time bomb,” as they each have a different agenda for Apple. While he can’t stand working for other people, he thrives as a leader and demands perfection from his team.

While Jobs tells a fascinating story about a creative genius and his tumultuous road to success, the movie falls short on character development. Even after the entire two hours of film, we still don’t really know a lot about the man himself apart from Apple. We know that he is a highly motivated perfectionist who doesn’t take no for an answer. He’s the visionary that gave Apple its premier reputation for design and innovation. He somehow transforms from a rebellious hippie college student who seeks an alternative experience to an excellent businessman who masters corporate speak to the man who pushes the envelope. Jobs is a textbook example of a film that tells instead of showing the story. While it was interesting to learn more about Jobs’ changing relationship to the company, the film could have been more thorough about tracing his personal development. For example, when the film flashes forward from 1984 to 1996, he has gone from a swinging bachelor who denies fathering his daughter to a family man with three children. How did he make the transition from someone who sets aside personal connections to one who is able to invite others into his life? Moreover, the movie mentions that he was adopted and shows glimpses of his adoptive parents but fails to delve deeper into that as well. The movie fails to address other aspects of his life in much detail. Jobs instead focuses on how he built and fought for the company.

Other characters attest to Jobs’ immeasurable contribution to the world of technology and innovation. He envisioned technology as being an extension of the individual. However, his strained relationship with the board of directors shapes his struggles and endeavors of executing that vision. No individual, even if they are a creative genius, can be completely free of corporate politics.

Jobs claims to tell an intense story, but the protagonist’s one-dimensional outbursts and blaring Bob Dylan soundtrack only work to highlight the script’s lack of depth. The story starts out strong as it hones in on Jobs introducing the new iPod. For those who want a broader scope of his accomplishments, Jobs may be disappointing, as it focuses on his struggles with other executives. It does not cover any of his recent accomplishments such as iTunes and the iPhone. It might be more interesting to read more about the man himself and watch some of his speeches (especially his graduation speech at Stanford) rather than watching this flick, which may or may not represent things accurately. Even if we put accuracy aside, the movie skimps on character development and shows multiple instances of people fighting for control over the company. This corporate squabble may be enjoyable for some, but without any real character stakes in place, I found it to be tiring and draining after a while.