I was not going to let this weekend pass without viewing the movie I have been waiting for. Ever since I saw the creepy teaser with the version of Creep that is not available for download (if you know where I can get it, let me know). How can I not see a movie that had so much hype surrounding it…Oscar worthy? Really? A movie about Facebook with the kid from Adventureland and Justin Timberlake, or who I like to call, JT. I was going; even if I had to go by myself, sit there for 30 min reading the latest Entertainment Weekly, which just happens to have the leading stars on the cover, and checking my iPhone constantly for any interaction with the outside world i.e. text, words with friends, twitter, and of course Facebook.
From the very beginning I was sold with the quick, staccato like conversation Mark Zuckerberg, played by Jesse Eisenberg, was having his soon to be ex-girlfriend, in a pub, in Boston. I could hear Aaron Sorkin’s, the screenwriter, tone all over this. Sorkin created, wrote, and produced the West Wing (big fan), which had a very similar feel to Social Network.
In the many interviews and stories I have read about the film, it appears most comes away feeling Zuckerberg is a horrible person. That the film portrays him in negative light. My opinion differs somewhat. He is no saint of course. And he was not true through the whole process, but there are a few things that I don’t think should take the blame for.
The Winklevoss twins did deserve some explanation/compensation. But their idea was different from what Zuckerberg ended up making. I’m not quite sure their 65 million was what they deserved, but Zuckerberg is a billionaire, so I guess what’s 65 million, right?
One really impressive aspect about the twins in the movie: they were not actually twins. It is played by one actor, Armie Hammer, with a body double, Josh Pence. They superimposed Hammer’s face and voice onto Pence. I’m glad I was aware of this going into the film. Every time they were onscreen I tried to see if I could tell. If I could see anything that would give it away. But I didn’t. Technology is amazing. Great job special effects.
The one person Zuckerberg definitely screwed over was his friend Eduardo Saverin, played by Andrew Garfield. It sucks Zuckerberg got so wrapped up in expanding Facebook, he chose to not care about the one person that had his back the whole time. The person who seduced him to that place was none other than JT, well, more accurately Sean Parker, who I believe came out looking more like a jerk than anyone else.
I didn’t know a lot of details about everything that went down with Napster and Sean Parker. And I definitely had no idea he had any part in Facebook. But the movie definitely portrayed him as more of a snake than Zuckerberg. And Timberlake did a good job because I was able to see him as his character and not himself. Kudos.
When I left the theater, all I could think about was the fact that Zuckerberg is almost the exact same age as me, literally, he was born on May 14, 1984 and my birthday is May 18, 1984…AND HE IS A BILLIONAIRE. How very different our lives are.
Then I got a little nostalgic about the old days of Facebook. I remember when it first came out. I was in college at the University of Nevada, Reno. I remember where I was when I became a member and how exclusive it was. It was for college students ONLY. You needed a university e-mail to use it. It was so simple. Fun. New.
Look at it now. A playground for anyone and everyone to share things they probably should never share anywhere except maybe their diary, journal, or therapist. A place where people try to one up everyone they are or are not friends with. A place where you can stalk as much as you want and no one will ever know your jealousy or hatred for those whom you encounter…or better yet, use to know.
Now don’t get me wrong. I use Facebook all the time. And love it. I am not saying I am above the many mistakes that everyone…and I do mean everyone, make on this site. But what this movie challenged me. It makes me think about what I actually want to utilize this great invention of a website for.
I would definitely recommend the movie. And depending on what other films come out, I would say has Oscar potential in numerous categories. This is a movie one might think is geared to my generation. I think it actually translates well to most age groups. Especially since everyone and their mom…let me take that back…everyone and their GRANDMA is on Facebook.
So check it out…and if you’ve seen it, feel free to share on the comments section what you thought. Until next time…PEACE OUT!
The One... 
Ok, yes now I’ve read it 🙂 I completely agree that the one who comes out looking the worst is Sean Parker. He looks like a leech who used his has-been status in Silicon Valley to secure the funding. I went into the movie with a healthy dose of skepticism because at the end of the day, it’s a movie, and you can only receive these kinds of things as one version of the truth, and one that’s meant to entertain. I don’t even think they make Mark Zuckerberg look that awful. I came away with the idea that he was a genius with a one-track mind to be as successful as possible, and used the resources available to him to get where he wanted. Even the fact that he screwed Eduardo wasn’t as harsh as meant to believe. Yes, how it was done was absolutely douchey. But he did warn him that he would be left behind if he didn’t jump on board, and as the one who actually did the all the coding and was the brain behind it, if he wanted it to grow in Palo Alto he had that right. But the way he did it was wrong, no doubt. Obviously I really liked it if I’m talking so much about it, but I’ll have to wait for the Oscar season to kick in before I’ll decide if it’s worthy of a Best Picture nom. Definitely thought-provoking in terms of how we use FB today and where this technology is taking us.