​FILMS

the intern

2015 review number 157:

The Intern: (Comedy/Drama): 74 out of 100: Robert De Niro has been acting since the 1960s and seems to be averaging at least three movies per year of late. In his resume there are quite a few stinkers among his classics like Raging Bull, The Godfather Part II and Goodfellas. The Intern is no masterpiece but thankfully isn't consigned to the rubbish bin. It's an entertaining look at how senior citizens approach life after they have retired, with excellent performances by the two Oscar winning stars in De Niro and Anne Hathaway.

 

Ben Whittaker (De Niro) is a 70 year old widower who has tried just about everything in his retirement but finds that he misses the work environment. An opportunity arises where seniors are readmitted to the workforce to capitalise on their experience. He finds himself placed as a senior intern with an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Hathaway). The company has recently been experiencing several downward trends and Jules turns to Ben to assist with the resurgence in the profits. He's also relied upon to organise her family life involving her husband, Matt (Anders Holm) and young daughter, Paige (JoJo Kushner).

 

Although some might criticise the movie for being a touch schmaltzy, the likability of the characters makes this a heartwarming tale. There are many funny moments too including one extended scene sending up the Ocean's Eleven trilogy where Ben and his colleagues must break into Jules' mother's home to intercept a derogatory email that was accidentally sent to her by Jules.

 

De Niro and Hathaway work well together and it's refreshing to see a relationship formed between an older man and a younger woman without having to resort to love in a sexual way. In fact, Ben has sexual encounters with someone closer to his age in Fiona (Rene Russo), the in-house masseuse, and there are some funny scenes involving her character. Jules' family situation becomes a tad sentimental and isn't helped by a weak performance by Holm although Kushner as their daughter, is delightfully cute and another exemplary product of the Hollywood child actors' production line. Ben's colleagues, Jason (Adam DeVine) and Davis (Zack Pearlman), share in the laughs.

 

There are various subplots which mesh together to form a delightful comedy/drama. Although running a little over two hours, there's enough happening to ensure that you are never bored. You pretty much know what you're going to get when this has been written and directed by the same person (Nancy Meyers) who wrote It's Complicated, Something's Gotta Give and Father of the Bride. Perhaps if Hathaway and De Niro weren't in the cast, the results might have been a little different as they elevate the movie to a higher status.

 

Starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Anders Holm and Adam DeVine

(121 minutes)

Parental advice: Coarse language and sexual references

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU3Xban0Y6A (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Friday 16th October, 2015)

 

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