Page 11 - Palm City Spotlight - August '23

Palm City Spotlight, Page 11

FiLm review

Film Review: Blackberry his guests, who return disappointed to their office with threatens a hostile
the bad news to their employees. The atmosphere lightens, takeover of their
By Nils A. Shapiro however, when Doug reminds them that it’s “Movie Day,” company, Balsillie
Now is the right time for this film to have been made, a time when everyone relaxes for a few hours to watch a pulls out all the
when we who have lived through the events it describes film during office hours. stops and on his
and felt its impact can finally know and understand the It soon becomes clear that, while Mike Lazaridis is a own pushes a sales
background story behind how and why it happened – the true technical genius and Doug Fregin is a fiercely loyal effort of so many
incredible success and sudden death of the technical friend and instrumental in keeping the employees happy and Blackberry phones
device that changed our lives: the first cell phone, the productive, what the Research in Motion company lacks is that it overwhelms
Blackberry, which many who owned and used it wish business executive know-how and leadership. Verizon’s capacity
it was still around as having been highly reliable and That comes, unexpectedly and surprisingly soon, in to handle the
excellent for its purpose. the form of a phone call from Jim Balsillie, who had communications
This Canadian production, released several months rudely dismissed them from his office without apparently traffic. He responds
ago and streaming now on Amazon Prime Video, makes giving them an opportunity to fully present their proposal. by pouring
it abundantly clear without stating so outright that such After first apologizing for that, Balsillie offers his own millions of dollars
a promising technical project was doomed from the start proposal: He will make a financial investment in Research into the pockets
because it brought together at the top of a company three in Motion, own 50 percent of the company, take over as of the nation’s
men who did not belong together and who proved to be CEO and provide the business knowledge and leadership most expert
an explosive combination. needed to make PocketLink an enormous success. telecommunications engineers to solve the problem.
The film’s opening scene is brilliant in that it introduces After some telephone negotiation, with the ownership Along the way, in 2007, he fires Doug – one of
us to the personal characters of all three of these men. settled at one-third instead of 50 percent and both Jim the original partners – who resents when a new Chief
Mike Lazaridis (played by Jan Baruchel) is the technical Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis as co-CEOs, the deal is Operating Officer is hired to change the office’s working
genius and CEO of Research in Motion (RIM), a start-up agreed upon. (Balsillie tells them that he is quitting his atmosphere from such fun as “Movie Day” to strictly
company that has developed a prototype mobile device executive job in order to join them. Only years later does business. Then, in the midst of one crisis after another,
they call the PocketLink. He and his best friend and co- he admit that he had been fired because of his selfish, the Securities & Exchange Commission shows up as part
founder, Doug Fregin (Matt Johnson, who also directed stab-in-the-back action against a business associate at the of an investigation into certain aspects of Research in
the film), have come to present their new invention to Jim earlier meeting and was now jobless.) Motion’s early financial activities involving Jim Balsillie.
Balsillie (Glenn Horverton) a top executive at a major Regardless of the reason for the new corporate setup, Scene after scene, with twists and turns following one after
firm in hopes of securing funding to begin manufacturing. Balsillie’s business know-how proves to be the missing another, we begin to wonder what more can possibly challenge
We quickly sense that Balsillie is largely ignoring his guests, ingredient for the success of Lazaridis’s new mobile this creative and resilient history-making tech company.
anxious instead to return to the important meeting from which device, now rebranded as the Blackberry. And then … we view a TV screen of Steve Jobs
he had excused himself to meet with them, planning to rejoin His contractual arrangement with Bell Atlantic as the announcing the introduction of the iPhone, with a flat
it with the intention of making a move to selfishly advance phone time provider – which becomes Verizon – helps screen keyboard and a list of features from Apple. When
his own self-interest over that of one of his associates. the Blackberry to become enormously popular, and the Verizon asks tech head Mike Lazaridis how he intends
Although somewhat intrigued by the PocketLink company successful and profitable. to overcome this new competition, he is faced with a
concept, Balsillie cuts this meeting short and dismisses In 2003, after the wealthy CEO of a competitor, Palm, question that doubts the superiority of his own original
keyboard concept.
How he answers that question; the eventual fate of the
cLub news Blackberry; the ensuing behind-the-scenes drama that
unfolded around us all and changed our lives during that
impactful time, are yours to discover when you watch the
Discover Secret Ancestry experience, she will share key strategies for effectively entire film on Amazon Prime TV. Highly recommended.
*****
Search Strategies With The using FamilySearch and Ancestry, two of the most- Note: This is not the first time that I watched a film I
used genealogy sites.
considered serious, even sad, only to learn that it was being
Martin County Genealogical Florida resident Debbie Duay has taught numerous touted as, at least in part, a comedy! A film I reviewed some
classes and workshops about researching Early
months ago, The Menu, was very dark, yet was entered in
Society American ancestry throughout the United States. She the comedy category by its studio for an Academy Award!
serves as the state regent of the Florida State Society Now it turns out that Blackberry has been named as “one
Sometimes when Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and of the best comedy-dramas ever to come out of Canada.”
doing genealogy as national vice chair for French Canadian Specialty To me, it is closer to tragedy than comedy.
research, you may Research. Duay has helped more than 500 people join
believe an ancestor’s the DAR and the Sons of the American Revolution
there but can’t find (SAR). She holds a Ph.D. in adult education from
where. If you’ve Florida Atlantic University.
e nc ount e re d t ha t Free and open to the public, the meeting will be at
problem, the Martin the Blake Library, 2351 S.E. Monterey Road in Stuart,
County Genealogical from 1 to 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 15. To participate via
Society (MCGS) has a Zoom, go to mcgsfl.org/events and register by Sept. 14.
solution. At the MCGS The Martin County Genealogical Society offers
September meeting, a variety of services at the Genealogy Room in the
Debbie Duay will Debbie Duay Blake Library including an extensive research library,
present “I Know It’s access to several genealogy websites and assistance
There, But I Just Can’t Find It: Debbie’s Secret Search from MCGS volunteers. For more information about
Strategies.” A genealogist with more than 20 years of membership, activities and services go to mcgsfl.org.

Ido Stern, Esq. Offices in Stuart & Boca Raton

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