The opening scene of the movie says it all about Ashton Kutcher’s portrayal of Steve Jobs. The text on the screen tells us that the lanky, forward-leaning man headed down the corridor is heading into an Apple staff meeting in 2001. It’s the meeting where he introduced something new—something that would change things. It was a music player. A little thing called the iPod. The staff at Apple all cheered as they realized that something new was about to take place. Do you remember the similar press conference video that we all saw online when he introduced the iPhone for the first time? It felt similar to that.
Then the movie backtracks to Jobs befriending another outcast at school—his lifelong bud, Steve Wozniak. The two go on to form a start-up computer company. And it keeps moving forward through time, showing these visionaries at work during their biggest breakthroughs. It’s funny to see the pair of Steves come up with the name for their computer company as they’re heading to a meeting to showcase their idea to investors. Things take off and then we see the first of a few sad moments, where Jobs tells his pregnant girlfriend that her surprise announcement (“I’m pregnant”) is little more than an interruption to the revolutionary mission this brainiac is on. It’s a painful moment that the movie shows bluntly and unflinchingly. It’s like a gift to us fellow human observers: Don’t treat people like obstacles! Don’t neglect the ones who love you! Don’t be an arrogant jerk! Jobs is guilty of all three in a major way. It’s like the movie The Social Network. Jobs continues to ignore his daughter. Thank goodness mother didn’t succumb to the pressure of treating this unborn child as a nuisance to her life. Part of you will watch the movie and grieve inside as Jobs opens a letter with a crayon-written note from his daughter, asking if she can come visit him. “Wake up, dude!” You’ll hope against hope that at some point in the movie you’ll see him come to his senses. This viewer didn’t know much about Jobs’ personal life, so I wasn’t privy to knowing whether or not he ever smarted up.
Deals are cut, friends are overlooked and the Apple company takes off. It goes through two to three major spurts and each are touched on as the company grows larger than life, becoming publicly traded and beholden to shareholders and a board of directors. It’s nice to see a story about recent technological advances that we’ve all lived through. The story is important and it’s fascinating. Kutcher pretty much nails the Jobs character and breathes life into the non-stop workaholic and driven person that pushed his ideas into reality against long odds. This observation is inspiring. In fact, it has the ability to stir the greatness inside of us all. Seeing a dream come true makes the beholder want to do the same, giving fuel to our own dreams and visions. Who knows what the next world-changing invention or idea will be…?
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