Steve Jobs over Blue Jasmine Any Day or Night
Ashton Kutcher is terrific in Jobs, but the true
stars are the geeks who look like angelic children from
another planet.Josh Gad (Steve Wozniack), Lukas Haas, Ron
Eldard, Nelson Franklin, Eddie Hassell. They are not famous,
but represent the creative mind at work and at play. They are
the intellectual pool from which Steve Jobs gets ideas.
Creativity is what this film directed by Josh Stern and
masterfully written by Matt Whiteley is about. The creative
process and how suits can destroy a living creative force like
Apple Computer. Watching Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) direct
and manage his group of underlings is stimulating for anyone
and especially stimulating if one is in the arts. The money
men want to kill Steve Jobs desire to make the best product
possible and only focus on the bottom line. At one point Jobs
is fired from Apple by John Scully played with perfect
spinelessness by Matthew Modine,whom he hired because he
trusted this man would have his back. The cutthroat world of
technology is portrayed with what seems to be a frightening
accuracy. Twice out of necessity and with a well earned
exercise in revenge Steve Jobs fires men who had supported him
early in his career. Delmot Mulroney magnificently portrays
Mike Markkula the treacherous man who both discovers and tries
to destroy Steve Jobs. You will cheer Jobs triumphant return
to Macintosh.
"Why are you still here?" Jobs asks a cherubic looking
geek who now heads a department and who has never met Jobs
since Jobs has been fired. Jobs is in the process of being
asked to return to help the ailing company and is walking
through the hallowed halls of his former beloved Apple.
The geek fumbles for words. Jobs can see this talented
employee is not being used for his innovative genius rather
his rudimentary skills.
"OK," Jobs says, "I want you to stop what you are doing
and create something meaningful and original." Jobs interest
in product and creation are what make this film fly. You will
leave the theatre feeling you have just watched a collision of
values and you feel so much cleaner and uplifted for it.
Whereas Blue Jasmine written and directed by Woody
Allen might just as well be called homage to Cate Blanchett
who portrays a tragic figure whose disintegration is due to
her disease of alcoholism. Other actors perform magnificiently
save Alec Baldwin who stomps through his performance. Andrew
Dice Clay , Bobby Cannavale and Sally Hawkins are standouts,
but all the hypocritical noise and publicity about Allen's
discovery of Blanchett is due to Allen's publicist running the
show. In fact, it should be written that Cate Blanchett who
has starred as the Queen of England in Elizabeth, The
Golden Age and some 57 films, condescended to be in a
Woody Allen film. Allen's PR has placed the importance of
players backwards. A bit of misogyny at work. Allen would have
no film without Blanchett. As it is, he has a flimsy story of
a tormented trophy wife suffering from alcoholism which is a
disease of misplaced values.
Jobs is a celebration of values while Blue
Jasmine is a film wallowing in bad values and no
solution. Go with Jobs any day or night unless you
want to see Blanchett's masterful --if not a bit precious
--portrayal of a woman coming unglued. Allen's disdain for a
certain kind of woman shines through here and painfully
reflects his short, unpleasant image ,filled with a sufficient
amount of self-loathing, based on his attraction to this
classy, though troubled, kind of woman who would not give him
any time night or day.
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