Years ago when the iPhone was announced, I wrote a post about how I couldn’t ever see myself using a phone without a tangible keypad. Who wants to text on a glass screen?
As it turns out, I had the same (poor) level of foresight as BlackBerry’s creator Mike Lazaridis. I learned about this and more in the titular movie, BlackBerry, which is available for rent via streaming services. It’s a “based on a true story” dramatization, not a documentary, and it’s fascinating.
One of the unique elements of the movie–thanks to the real story of the BlackBerry–is that it isn’t just a success story. It’s also a story of failure: early, often, and in the end. BlackBerry once had a massive market share, and now it doesn’t exist at all.
Aside from Lazaridis, the movie also focuses on two polar opposite people: Doug Fregin and Jim Balsillie. Fregin is portrayed as someone who is brilliant at appealing to programmers who want to work hard and nerd out together–he’s all about company culture. Balsillie (played by Glenn Howerton of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and AP Bio) is a hardass who is very good at dealing with the types of businesses and people who push the little guy around. Both are flawed in different ways, but they’re both riveting to watch.
If you like these business-type stories, I definitely recommend BlackBerry–I really enjoyed it! If you’ve seen it or anything like it (I recall the Tetris movie earlier this year), let me know in the comments.
Also a dramatisation of a true and fascinating story: The Dropout, about Elisabeth Holmes. It’s based on the (good) podcast with the same name.
Thanks! I’ve heard good things about that.