It has been just over a year and a half since Steve Jobs passed away, and in that time, books and documentaries have been released that delve into the life and legacy of Jobs. This week, a short-ish film written and directed by Ryan Perez gives us a different take at the man behind Apple. In this parody biopic dubbed “iSteve”, some familiar faces like Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, and all those Apple commercials) and Jorge Garcia (Lost) take aim and has fun with the life of Jobs.
I have to admit, I made it about half way through this before I had to take a break. It really wasn’t capturing my attention, and the humor was minimal. In fact, the beginning half really just made me feel bad for Woz. The lack of over-the-top funny stuff made me wonder if the inaccuracies were intentional or just ignorance.
In any case, I paused it and read some comments to see what others were saying. Most agreed that the movie was lackluster, while a small number of others really enjoyed the flick. One comment mentioned this movie was written in 3 days and shot in 5. I cannot confirm or deny this statement, but I figured that I’d watch the rest for that reason alone!
I am glad I did.
The second half that I watched really picked up in terms of the comedic elements and had much less Woz bashing (thank goodness). I felt compelled to keep watching so I could see what crazy things they would do next. Without giving anything huge away I loved when Justin playing Jobs basically discovers himself (being played by Anthony Gioe) as an actor, and directs “Justin” in an Apple commercial.
I don’t expect everyone to like this one, and in fact, most reviews have confirmed this. That said, I would watch it again. It definitely isn’t for the younger audience (at least my mom wouldn’t have let me watch it) and borders somewhere between PG-13 and R, so consider yourself warned before showing it to your little ones.
If you’re looking for a funny history lesson that you should take with many grains of salt, check out iSteve. At worst, it’s only 80 minutes of your life, anyway!
You can find iSteve on Funny or Die’s website or check out the movie directly here.