Director: Matt Johnson
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson
Running Time: 121 minutes
Synopsis: It's 1996 in Waterloo, Ontario, and Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin (Jay Baruchel and director Matt Johnson) are the scrappy co-founders of ramshackle modem company Research In Motion (RIM). Mike is a brilliant electronics inventor with an idea to combine the pager, phone, and email into a single hand-held device, and Doug is the energetic employee booster, but they are both hapless at business. After some hesitation, they bring in Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) as co-CEO. He is ambitious, cut-throat, and gets things done. Mike's innovation and Jim's drive make the Blackberry the must-have business device of the mid 2000s, but RIM's runaway success is soon threatened.
What Works Well: With a blend of human drama and madcap comedy, this business story tracks the rise and fall of an iconic device through themes of culture clash (sharp business suits and BMWs versus geekery), fake-it-until-you-make-it (the power of a prop), loss of focus (the pursuit of an NHL franchise), and hubris (failure to appreciate the iPhone's threat). As director, Matt Johnson keeps the drama galloping across a decade of events, always with an eye for the small but telling detail, most poignantly Mike's aversion to electronic products assembled in China. And as an actor alongside Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton, Johnson completes a memorably contrasting trio of sharply-drawn characters.
What Does Not Work As Well: Outside of work and Jim's obsession with hockey, none of the three men appear to have a private life, partners, or interests.
Key Quote:
Jim: Mike, are you familiar with the saying "Perfect is the enemy of good?"
Mike: Well, "Good Enough" is the enemy of humanity.
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