TMC: Blackberry

I'm tired. I spent all day umpiring a softball tournament, and I'm worn out from the sun, the heat, the games, and the general buzz in the air. Being that I'm spent, I came home and collapsed onto the couch where I decided to turn my brain off by tuning into the Matt Johnson fictional story Blackberry as Teebz's Movie Club took over my Saturday evening. Knowing some of the players in Research In Motion's real-life tale of exploding onto the scene with a smartphone that broke all the rules to its eventual collapse into ruins, I had a good idea how the story would be told. I was not, however, expecting it to contain the incredible performances witnessed on my screen. Needless to say, this is one of those films where expectations were not only met, but absolutely blown away by the acting efforts turned in by the cast in the telling of one of the world's former tech giants who introduced the world to email on your phone!

Viewers of this movie don't need to know the entire story about the Blackberry smartphone in order to enjoy Blackberry. While there is some technological jargon and chatter in the movie, one doesn't need a rocket science degree to figure out what's happening in each of those scenes. If you were expecting an exposé documentary, you'll be warned at the start that Blackberry is a fictional telling of the story that follows the same timeline with the same plot points, but there might be a few creative liberties taken. In the same vein that one may enjoy The Social Network's look at Facebook, Blackberry does a great job in handling the story of RIM and its Blackberry.

Jay Baruchel stars as the MENSA-like genius Mike Lazaridis who seemingly can build a smartphone out of an Etch-A-Sketch. His performance as the co-CEO of Research In Motion is fantastic as he portrays the somewhat-introverted Lazaridis extremely well in the beginning before allowing his character to grow into the brilliant-but-ignorant engineer who changes cell phone data usage as the world knows it. Baruchel's performance is can't be overlooked as the spark that gets this story going, but there is another who drives Blackberry to new heights.

That would be Glenn Howerton's portrayal of Jim Balsillie, RIM's other co-CEO, whose lack of business ethics will be on display in Blackberry. Howerton not only commands the screen with Balsillie's unwavering drive to make money, but it's his version of Balsillie's egotistical and narcissistic ways that really will evoke negative emotions from the viewers towards the character. Needless to say, Howerton deserves full marks for showing his acting ability in this role, and I do hope he garners a few award nominations.

Director Matt Johnson plays Doug Fregin, Lazaridis' best friend who tries to keep the shy, unassuming genius away from trouble, but ultimately goes along for the ride when the money starts rolling in. The character of Doug is best described as a tension breaker in Blackberry, but his moral compass is set correctly in most cases where Mike needs a true friend. Johnson does a great job in being the eccentric goofball with a heart of gold.

Of course, I also had a very specific want in watching Blackberry as Jim Balsillie was, at one time, close to purchasing the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins with the intent on moving them to Hamilton, Ontario. Mark Critch plays NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in the film, and there are a couple of occasions where there's interaction between Howerton as Balsillie and Critch as Bettman. One of those scenes involves an epic meltdown by Balsillie in front of the NHL Board of Governors that BarDown so eloquently posted to TikTok (warning: language is definitely R-rated!)!

I won't give away the ending to the NHL portion of Blackberry, but you likely know that Jim Balsillie was never an owner of any NHL franchise despite trying three times to become one. What I will say, though, is that this movie was fun, it was entertaining, it kept me interested in terms of the storytelling, and the performances were outstanding from all the central actors.

Blackberry may not be your first choice when looking to hunker down with some popcorn, but I seriously ask that you reconsider that decision. Much like Adam McKay's telling of The Big Short, there's enough factual basis in the movie to give it legs to stand on as an intertesting story, and the work done by the actors to bring the characters to life make it entertaining enough that you won't notice the running time of 1:59. I found there were no spots where it dragged its feet, and that's a sign that the direction of the storytelling by Matt Johnson was entertaining and explanatory without being too deep of an examination.

I enjoyed Blackberry in it entirety, and the vampire line delivered by Glenn Howerton might be one of my favorite movie lines in recent history. While it's not a perfect movie that the Academy will praise for its depth and meaning, Blackberry will certainly be one of those movies I'll be telling people to see because I was so pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Check it out if you have the chance. I'd love to hear what you think!

Teebz's Rating: ★★★★✫ that definitely should be 4.5 stars.



Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!