The Intern: Movie Review
Writer/director Nancy Meyers is responsible for some of the most likeable films of the past 30 years. If you look back at her body of work (The Parent Trap *remake*, Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated”) you can easily see what I mean. Those don’t even include the films she just wrote the screenplays for (Private Benjamin, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Father of the Bride). The filmmaker’s latest effort, “The Intern” may not be as memorable, but it’s almost as enjoyable.
Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) is a 70-year-old retired widower who spends his days trying to find ways to keep busy. After seeing an ad for a senior intern program at a New York online fashion company, he sends in a video resume and the staff instantly falls in love with him. Everyone that is except for the company founder Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) who doesn’t feel she needs a personal intern. At first, Jules is reluctant to give Ben anything to actually do, so he winds up spending his days patiently waiting to be called upon. In the meantime, Ben gets to know the rest of the team, which includes Jason (Adam DeVine), fellow intern Davis (Zach Pearlman), and company masseuse Fiona (Rene Russo).
After observing Jules regular driver having something to drink before getting behind the wheel, he steps up and appoints himself as her new driver. From that point on, the working relationship between the two begins to blossom. It is Ben’s observations about his new boss that makes him a valuable asset for her to have. He sees what she needs and handles it before she is even able to ask. He even makes sure she has a hot lunch waiting for her in the car if he notices she hasn’t eaten.
All Ben really wants is to feel needed. He was a successful business man and as an intern, he is obviously not working for a paycheck. However, Ben isn’t the only one with personal struggles. Jules’ business investors want her to bring in an experienced CEO because they don’t believe she can continue to run the expanding company on her own. The long hours are also affecting her life at home, where her husband Matt (Anders Holm) and daughter Paige (JoJo Kushner) don’t see her as much as they would like.
The chemistry between De Nero and Hathaway is great but it is the supporting cast that helps keep things alive. There are a few scenes within “The Intern” that I felt just didn’t work. One in particular in which Ben and a few co-workers break into a house in order to delete an email off someone’s personal computer was just pretty stupid. Aside from that, I had a nice time with “The Intern” and fans of Meyers’ body of work will surely enjoy it too.
By: Marc Ferman