The Intern (2015) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / 24 Oct 2015

We've all been there: going to see a comedy and praying fervently that it won't be a complete waste of time. 'Please movie, don't take a hard right at Lame Jokes Avenue.' You hope that a feel-good movie would finally just do as advertised. Fortunately for us, Nancy Meyer's first film in six years does just that.

Ben Whitaker (Robert De Niro) is a 70-year-old widower who bluntly states that retirement has gotten way too boring. Even vacations aren't a solution, because the final destination, home, always reminds him of his wife. He realizes he has to stay active, do something...anything. He applies for a job at a fashion company that's looking for senior citizens (as a way to reach out to the community). The company's led by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) who's so busy that she's persuaded to scour for a new CEO. The investors are concerned that the company could potentially crumble under the weight of its own rapid success, so someone with 'experience' is recommended. Jules agrees to interview several candidates. Meanwhile, Ben, being an intern to Jules, doesn't have a lot to do, but soon finds himself becoming a mentor and a friend of sorts to Jules and aids her in overcoming not just the crises at work, but those at home as well.

I can't emphasize enough how crucial De Niro and Hathaway's acting are to the success of The Intern. Sure, De Niro's not venturing out of his comfort zone at all here, but he's believable and likeable. Same goes for Hathaway. The supporting cast are a surprisingly likeable bunch as well. Usually, comedies tend to suffer from characters who desperately try to be funny, but none of that awkwardness is to be found here. And that's what I found pleasantly surprising on the whole: just the complete lack of awkwardness, both in terms of acting and writing. 

The film's flaws can all be traced back to the fact that, at the end of the day, it's very much a lightweight affair. You could argue for hours about how De Niro's father-knows-best role undermines the film's feminist side, that the role of the massage therapist is underwritten, yadda yadda. You could make a case that the film doesn't treat its topics with the dramatic weight they deserve and you'd be right--I personally felt that the 'cheating' could've been handled differently--but then again, the film never tries to be something it's not. The scenes featuring dramatic content are played out in such a way so as not to derail the film's overall happy-go-lucky mood and flow. The critic in me thinks I should be harsher, but I can't deny that I had a swell time.