Technology has come a long way. Not just over the past 100 years, but also in the past decade or so. I can remember, back in high school, when I received my first cell phone. I have the same phone number, today, just for the record. Within a few years, we had flip phones and more-compact designs, spanning all the stores. While this was going on, a few guys in a small space were fine-tuning a design which they believed would revolutionize the industry. I still do not know how they came up with the name for it, but before that name was established on the market, it was known by another name; a working title, if you will: Pocket-Link. Today, we remember it as BlackBerry.
For all the time this device was around, I only knew what a BlackBerry was based on its use by supposed important names within our society. When Barack Obama was first-elected to the presidency in 2008, he famously said that his security detail would have to rip the phone right from his hands if they expected him to ever give it up. Instead, he became the first (and only) President in American history to use a BlackBerry as his Presidential phone. So, what happened, exactly, to Blackberry? If you were actually wondering about this, yourself, there is a new, biographical movie, centered around the rise and fall of this unique and historic device. For the record, it is based on a book, “Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry,” written by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff.
“BlackBerry” is directed by Matt Johnson (“Nirvanna the Band the Show”), who co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Miller (who was also a producer on this project). It stars: Jay Baruchel (“Random Acts of Violence”) as inventor and idea man, Mike Lazaridis, and Glenn Howerton (“How It Ends”) as businessman and philanthropist, Jim Balsillie. Beyond these two, there are: Matt Johnson as Douglas Fregin, Saul Rubinek (“The Song of Names”) as John Woodman, Cary Elwes (“Burning At Both Ends”) as Carl Yankowski, Michael Ironside (“Nobody”) as Charles Purdy, Rich Sommer (“King Richard”) as Paul Stannos, SungWon Cho (“Belle”) as Ritchie Cheung and Michelle Giroux (“Delia’s Gone”) as Dara Frankel. Presumably, these are all based on actual people involved in the real-life story.
From the opening moments of the film, there was a certain look that felt retro, like from the ‘90s. If so, it would make complete sense. The timeline begins in 1996, after al. Though it is in Canada, it still feels like an American story, somehow. In other words, it is relatable. Lazaridis and Fregin are front and center for their own company, Research In Motion, trying to sell a new idea; one that has actually been tried before, but not executed successfully, yet. The two have a brief meeting with Balsillie, who is working for a company outside of himself and has aspirations to climb the corporate ladder. Although this meeting does not go well, it does lead to another meeting, elsewhere, where the three men merge their work into one and Balsillie takes over as the CEO, though less in name and more by his attitude and actions and words.
From here, things change rapidly for everyone involved. The wave of the future comes to fruition and Lazaridis and Fregin begin to explore new roles for themselves. I was reminded of two, other biopics as these moments were transpiring: “The Network” and “The Founder.” What you see unfold with the original nerds of the company is much like what you saw as you watched the former movie I just mentioned. One guy finds a new identity for himself and never looks back while the other is seemingly left in the dust due to his inability to change or mature for the better. As for Balsillie, he seems to be quite reminiscent of the titular character in the latter film, from before. Although he does not skip out on the bill, so to speak, he is ruthless in his dealings as a businessman and sooner or later, it catches up to him. Who knows what he is up to now and or what he might be up to had he continued to get his way? 
What I DO know is that Glenn Howerton gives a remarkable performance. It is only May, but I would love to see his name come up once award season makes its rounds for 2023. He is charismatic and funny in his portrayal and I could not get enough of it, honestly.
Not to be outdone or overshadowed is the part played by Jay Baruchel. Many of us have watched and enjoyed him over the past 20 years or so in various, mostly-comedic roles, but this one is unique for him and though it is more understated than that of Howerton, it is everything that it needs to be for the movie and it was solid. He ought to be quite proud of himself and I hope it will open more people’s eyes as to what he is capable of as an actor.
While Matt Johnson took on multiple duties behind the cameras, he also filled in well with the limited time he had on screen. You might say he was the greatest of the secondary characters and he was typically the comic relief, throughout. If you enjoy lots of movie references from the previous eras and like seeing video games represented on plain tee-shirts, you should get a real kick out of this individual. By the way, he might seem as though he is clueless and foolish, but in the end, he gets the last laugh and I think it is a rewarding outcome.
Everyone else is adequate with their screen time. Yes, some of these actors are far less memorable than others, but no one disappointed. Even though BlackBerry is just a handheld product, at the end of the day, it is the people who made that product possible who have everything to gain and something valuable to lose with its rise and fall, which were both pretty steep. In the modern world, especially on this side of the globe, our memories are tied into objects with no clear, innate feelings or emotions, yet we feel something, at various times, which make us happy or sad when we merely think about them, much less hold them in our hands once more. The story closes with a small detail that, once again, reminded me of “The Network.” It shows us that once we have become set in our ways and our habits, there is less chance that we will change from that, again. At some point, we have become whom we are going to be and it is all downhill from there. Do not worry about my reminders of other motion pictures. They do not hurt THIS one. “BlackBerry” is everything it needed to be and I except the positive reactions to continue. It was very good! Well done, Canada.
Director: Matt Johnson
Screenwriters: Matt Johnson and Matthew Miller
Based on: Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff
Starring: Glenn Howerton, Jay Baruchel, Rich Sommer, Michael Ironside, Martin Donovan, Michelle Giroux, SungWon Cho, Mark Critch, Saul Rubinek and Cary Elwes
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Release date: February 17th, 2023 (Berlin) and May 12th, 2023 (Canada)
