← Back to Reviews
in
THE INTERN
The singularly unique screen charisma of two time Oscar winner Robert De Niro is really the only reason to commit to a tired and implausible 2015 comedy called The Intern that tries to tell a contemporary story but acceptance of the story presented here requires the viewer to accept a whole lot that I was unable to accept.
De Niro plays Ben Whitaker, a 70 year old widower who gets hired as a senior intern at an internet fashion company called About the Fit, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Oscar winner Anne Hathaway), a driven workaholic who never sleeps and had no idea that her company had instituted a senior internship program. This company is so financially sound that they actually have a masseuse (Rene Russo) on staff. Needless to say a clashing of general work ethic keep our two principal characters apart as Jules initially gives Ben nothing to do but eventually finds him to be an asset to her professional and personal life.
This movie reminded me of an old Michael J. Fox movie called The Secret of My Success, a film about big business that provided entertainment value as long as you can accept upfront that NOTHING that happens in this movie is based on anything resembling realism. OK, where do I start here...first of all, I don't believe that Jules' staff was able to institute a senior internship program without her knowing anything about it. I also don't believe any company, especially an internet company, would be hiring 70 year old interns to be doing anything. I also didn't buy the respect and reverence that was accorded Ben upon his arrival because senior citizens are just not accepted in a workplace environment as unconditionally as Ben is here.
To find entertainment value here, there had to be some affection for the character of Jules and I had a hard time finding anything to like about this character. I gave it the old college try, but the nail went into her likability coffin the first time Jules sees Ben in her kitchen for the first time.
One thing director/screenwriter Nancy Meyers did get right is our exposure to Jules' personal life, which isn't revealed until about 40 minutes into the movie. We are actually surprised to see that she has a stay-at-home husband and a daughter who are totally neglected and I knew five minutes into the first scene with Jules' husband (Anders Holm) that the guy was cheating on her. Some may consider this a spoiler, but I knew it the second the character appeared onscreen so I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything. What I also found aggravating is this driven workaholic considering giving up control of her company in order to save her marriage...seriously? I do have to credit Meyers for not pairing the leads romantically and allowing Ben to initiate a relationship with Russo's character.
The only thing that kept me committed to this sinfully overlong journey was the charisma of De Niro, which almost made this mess worth sitting through. Hathaway is fighting the script all the way and Russo is wasted. Hardcore De Niro fans might want to check it out, but you would be better off re-watching Taxi Driver.
The singularly unique screen charisma of two time Oscar winner Robert De Niro is really the only reason to commit to a tired and implausible 2015 comedy called The Intern that tries to tell a contemporary story but acceptance of the story presented here requires the viewer to accept a whole lot that I was unable to accept.
De Niro plays Ben Whitaker, a 70 year old widower who gets hired as a senior intern at an internet fashion company called About the Fit, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Oscar winner Anne Hathaway), a driven workaholic who never sleeps and had no idea that her company had instituted a senior internship program. This company is so financially sound that they actually have a masseuse (Rene Russo) on staff. Needless to say a clashing of general work ethic keep our two principal characters apart as Jules initially gives Ben nothing to do but eventually finds him to be an asset to her professional and personal life.
This movie reminded me of an old Michael J. Fox movie called The Secret of My Success, a film about big business that provided entertainment value as long as you can accept upfront that NOTHING that happens in this movie is based on anything resembling realism. OK, where do I start here...first of all, I don't believe that Jules' staff was able to institute a senior internship program without her knowing anything about it. I also don't believe any company, especially an internet company, would be hiring 70 year old interns to be doing anything. I also didn't buy the respect and reverence that was accorded Ben upon his arrival because senior citizens are just not accepted in a workplace environment as unconditionally as Ben is here.
To find entertainment value here, there had to be some affection for the character of Jules and I had a hard time finding anything to like about this character. I gave it the old college try, but the nail went into her likability coffin the first time Jules sees Ben in her kitchen for the first time.
One thing director/screenwriter Nancy Meyers did get right is our exposure to Jules' personal life, which isn't revealed until about 40 minutes into the movie. We are actually surprised to see that she has a stay-at-home husband and a daughter who are totally neglected and I knew five minutes into the first scene with Jules' husband (Anders Holm) that the guy was cheating on her. Some may consider this a spoiler, but I knew it the second the character appeared onscreen so I don't feel like I'm spoiling anything. What I also found aggravating is this driven workaholic considering giving up control of her company in order to save her marriage...seriously? I do have to credit Meyers for not pairing the leads romantically and allowing Ben to initiate a relationship with Russo's character.
The only thing that kept me committed to this sinfully overlong journey was the charisma of De Niro, which almost made this mess worth sitting through. Hathaway is fighting the script all the way and Russo is wasted. Hardcore De Niro fans might want to check it out, but you would be better off re-watching Taxi Driver.