iSteve

''iSteve'' is a 2013 parody film released on April 17, 2013 by producer Funny or Die, marking their first full-length movie. It claims to be the first biopic on the life of Steve Jobs after his death. The film stars Justin Long, who had previously starred in Apple's ''Get a Mac'' ad campaign, as Jobs and Jorge Garcia as Steve Wozniak. The film was written in three days and shot in five by Ryan Perez, a former Saturday Night Live writer.

Cast

''In order of appearance''

Crew

*Directed by: Ryan Perez
*Producer: Allison Hord
*Written by: Ryan Perez
*with additional material by: Danny Jelinek, Anne Rieman, Allison Hord, Charles Ingram, Nick Corirossi and Brad Schultz

Critical review

As a free release on the Internet, the movie went unseen by film critics, with most public reactions coming from tech and business bloggers. According to ''Forbes'', early reviews are mixed. ''Wired'' reviewer Mat Honan stated that the movie was "profoundly unfunny" and that "If 'Funny or Die' is a promise, the crew should probably start coffin shopping." Honan claims that the film has several inaccuracies but also notes that the film is a parody, which somewhat offsets that. ''CNET'' reviewer Amanda Kooser also notes that the movie "cut a few corners as far as accuracy goes". Kooser notes that the film succeeded, in a sense, in beating Ashton Kutcher's ''Jobs'' to market as the first Steve Jobs biopic after his death (''Pirates of Silicon Valley'' had been produced and released in 1999, 3 years after Jobs returned to Apple). Kooser also notes that the movie had rampant anachronistic technology term usage. ''Variety'' reviewer AJ Marechal notes that the movie, which was written in three days and shot in five, "has its funny moments", but that it may be "too long", especially for the Funny or Die viewership. ''The New York Times'' critic Brooks Barnes described the movie as a "biopic poking fun at biopics" and said that writer Ryan Perez said "In true Internet fashion, it’s not based on very thorough research — essentially a cursory look at the Steve Jobs Wikipedia page". Barnes also noted that the movie also bested a third Jobs movie in the works by Aaron Sorkin adapted from ''Steve Jobs'' by Walter Isaacson with input from Wozniak to the market. ''Fortune'' reviewer Philip Elmer-DeWitt describes the movie as " an over-long Saturday Night Live skit that never quite gets rolling", but noted it had a few things going for it.

Macworld reviewers Dan Moren and Lex Friedman provided one of the few positive reviews describing the movie as a humorous Jobs biography that "...is surprisingly amusing, provided you are both a fan of Apple and of stupid comedy, and presuming you also don’t mind a little profanity sprinkled in for good measure." ''Forbes'' reviewer noted that the scheduled April 15 release was delayed 2 days due to the Boston Marathon bombings.

Notes

External links

Official link
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{{Steve Jobs

2013 films
2010s parody films
Films about Steve Jobs
Funny or Die
2013 comedy films
2010s English-language films
American parody films
2010s American films