We have all dreamed of working with our friends in a fun environment and making millions of dollars. While for many of us, this is only a dream, there are a few friends that have worked hard and made this dream come true. Although it may be great to work with friends, sometimes too much fun puts blinders on what needs to be done or how to push each other to move forward. This is what happens to the gang of misfits from Research In Motion in the movie BlackBerry. They decided to create a new product to revolutionize phones and end up creating the best-selling phone in America with the help of an outsider who will not take no for an answer.
In BlackBerry, we meet Mike Lazaridis & Douglas Fregin, played by Jay Baruchel and Matt Johnson, who are the creators of Research In Motion and are very tech-savvy. Mike is too tech savvy that he is awkward when interacting with others. Doug is the voice and cheerleader behind Mike and helps him make the decisions for the company. Together they try to pitch their new product that they feel will revolutionize the world but do not have the wherewithal to do it.
Jim Balsillie, played by an unrecognizable Glenn Howerton, steps into the picture and takes command of Research In Motion. Jim has the business acumen and loud voice to get the company where they need to go. His brashness is so absurd at times that it seems that this is an exaggeration of a person. Howerton does a fantastic job of portraying the alpha-male-tech-bro that was prevalent during this time. You just want to throw something at the screen to make him be quiet but it was this attitude that helped propel BlackBerry into the powerhouse that it was.
During the growth of the business, we see the unsavory ways that Jim poached other leaders in the tech world to work for RIM and the promises that were made to get them onboard. Like with anything pure, the relationship between Mike and Doug starts crumbling due to their work ethic and control of Jim.
BlackBerry is a great film about how greed can destroy a company and take it from being the best-selling smartphone in the world to having 0% of the market.
BklackBerry was shown during the Chicago Critics Film Festival.
Final Thoughts: BlackBerry shows us how a young start-up can go array when under the leadership of the wrong person. The “fun-go-loving” crew at Research In Motion needs a push to help their company grow. They try to get assistance and end up meeting Jim Balsillie, who not only helps the company grow but ultimately leads to the company’s downfall.
Kid-Friendly: I would have to say yes and no. Blackberry is a great movie about how greed and ego can destroy a dream but there is a lot of cursing in it. Kids will see how being a bully is a bad thing and that can be a great lesson for them.
Violence: There is no violence in the movie there is just a lot of bad language mainly spoken by Jim Balsillie.
It’s 1996, and Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and his business partner and best friend Douglas Fregin (Matt Johnson) are on the edge of creating the world’s first smartphone. Unfortunately for them, they are less business savvy than they are tech, and struggle to keep their company, Research in Motion, afloat. Everything changes when cunning business man Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) agrees to join the company, bringing with him the money and experience needed to create and sell a prototype of their invention.