The 2023 drama biopic “Blackberry” is centered around the meteoric rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone, the Blackberry. Focusing especially on the character dynamics between co-founders Mike Lazardis and Doug Fregin with the involvement of corporate centric Jim Balsillie. 

Glenn Howerton, revered for his role as the loveably psychotic Dennis Reynolds in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” portrays Jim Balsillie. Balsillie, whose drive for professional success leads him to interact with his colleagues in an abrasive, nearly pathetic manner, is a role that plays perfectly into Howerton’s strengths. 

Howerton, with his trademark edginess and shrill line deliveries makes Balsillie both a believable antagonist and someone the viewer can admire for their professional drive and commitment to selling the fledgling smartphone. 

Jay Baruchel, a cast favorite of director Judd Apatow (with roles in “Knocked Up”, “This is the End” and “Tropic Thunder”), is soft-spoken co-founder Mike Lazaridis. Equipped with soft-shell glasses and a prematurely silver head of hair, Baruchel captures the timid manner in which Lazardis piloted the floundering Research In Motion (RIM) before the introduction of Balsillie. 

Matt Johnson, cult favorite director of “Nirvana the band the show” and “The Dirties” co-stars as co-founder of RIM, Doug Fregin. Fregin begins the film as Lazardis’ best friend and second in command, and slowly becomes obsolete in the company as Balsillie emphasizes money over the RIM employee community. 

Fregin comes out of the movie as the only founding member of RIM to not sacrifice his values in favor of success, but this must be taken with a grain of salt as Johnson himself has chosen to portray the ‘hero’ character. As the ending scroll reveals, Fregin is secretly one of the richest men in the world, after selling his stock at the height of Blackberry popularity. 

Blackberry, whose lasting legacy is that phone you had before the iPhone, revolutionized the mobile technology industry. Combining an email machine, pager, and web browser into one mobile device, the Blackberry quickly found its home in many pockets across America. 

In the end, Blackberry phones became irrelevant with the invention of the iPhone and the revolutionary touchscreen. Networks transitioned from selling minutes to selling data, profiting from the massive data usage that the new technology required. 

As the ending scroll reads, at the height of popularity, the Blackberry phones made up 45% of the cell phone market. Today, it’s 0% with Blackberries no longer being manufactured. 

Akin to David Fincher’s “The Social Network”, “Blackberry” takes a potentially dry story of coding, business meetings, and interpersonal conflicts, and turns it into a thriller-esque, fast-paced film about the effects of success. 

“Blackberry” draws from real-life and provides an excellent example of how reality influences every facet of our storytelling abilities. Balsillie and Lazardis are prime examples of foil characters, despite being real-life people with their own agencies. 

The soundtrack features songs from “The Kinks”, “The Strokes”, “The White Stripes” as well as “Joy Division”. Understanding the relevancy of these songs both in terms of the time period and the personalities of the RIM team, Johnson folds the music of the era into the nerd culture that permeated the tech industry prior to corporations capitalizing on these tech achievements. 

Beyond the soundtrack, the score composed by Jay McCarrol, provides a fittingly tense backdrop to the more dramatic sequences of the film. Electronic inspired music sets the backdrop to the most pivotal moments of the story, giving a board meeting the same exhilarating track that an “Avengers” level fight might receive. 

With a comparatively measly $5 million dollar budget, the film did not have a large marketing campaign and received only a limited release in theaters, averaging only 2.5 weeks of showings. 

With Johnson in the director’s seat, “Blackberry” is a decidedly nerd centric film, not only highlighting Balsillie’s exploitation of the RIM employees that built his fortune for him, but also the way Lazardis allowed his own morals to be diluted for money’s sake. 

With references to staples of nerd culture, such as “Indiana Jones”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and of course, “Star Wars” Matt Johnson pays homage to the nerds who paved the way to the current age of technology. 

All in all, “Blackberry” goes beyond the surface level success story of the world’s first smartphone and delves into the betrayal of personal values, corporate culture and the overlooked technological brains behind the phones. 

Streaming now on Hulu, “Blackberry” is a must watch for any fans of biopics, tech, or Glenn Howerton.