BlackBerry trailer: Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton star in the rise and fall of the first smartphone

Last Updated on April 4, 2023

Once upon a time, BlackBerry was king, but it came crashing down just as quickly as it rose. IFC Films have released the first trailer for BlackBerry, a comedy drama starring Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton as the two men responsible for the launch of the smartphone.

BlackBerry was directed by Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche), who also penned the screenplay with Matthew Miller (Nirvana The Band The Show). The film is based on Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff’s best-selling nonfiction book Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry. The film tells “The true story of the meteoric rise & catastrophic demise of the world’s first smartphone, BlackBerry is a whirlwind ride through a ruthlessly competitive Silicon Valley at breakneck speeds.“

My first smartphone was a BlackBerry and I loved that thing, but it just couldn’t stand up to the rise of the iPhone. “The movie is about the rise and fall of the company Research in Motion that created the BlackBerry,” Glenn Howerton told Entertainment Weekly of the movie. “[It’s about] the interesting and fascinating ways in which they rose to the top of the market, and singled out the BlackBerry as the most important phone in the world to have, and made it such a desirable device.” Howerton added, “And, of course, the hubris of thinking you’ve figured it all out, and then something comes in like the iPhone and sweeps it all away from you before you realize it.“

Jay Baruchel plays Mike Lazaridis, founder of the company, with Glenn Howerton playing former co-CEO Jim Balsillie. Howerton described Balsillie as “a very savvy businessman who jumped into this venture when it was really just a bunch of tech guys who had no idea what they had on their hands.” You might also note from the BlackBerry trailer that Howerton is sporting a cueball look. The actor said that he chose to shave his head rather than try to wear a bald cap because he didn’t think it would look as good. “I really get distracted in movies by bad wigs and bad bald caps, so I wanted to avoid that as much as possible,” Howerton said.

BlackBerry will hit theaters on May 12th.