The Intern (C-) Movie Review
The Intern stars Robert De Niro as 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker, who feels boredom creeping into his life since his wife's passing. He applies and gets the job of a senior citizen intern for a modern Brooklyn e-commerce fashion startup, where he must attend to boss Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway)'s needs. Jules' apprehensiveness to hire a senior intern leads to some conflict between the two but an unexpected friendship soon develops.
From Nancy Meyers, director of The Holiday, Something's Gotta Give, and It's Complicated, comes The Intern. I have nothing against these films. They're sweet and harmless, if flawed. The Intern can be described as exactly that. There's hardly anything that could be deemed possibly offensive to anyone (maybe meninists, but does anyone really care about those guys?) and the film does have its fair share of smile-inducing, aww moments. It also has its fair share of cringe-inducing, sugary moments that almost prompt a look away from the screen.
Robert De Niro gives a charming performance in this film. Not that he's given a chance to show versatility or even a wide range of emotions; his character arc is surprisingly shallow, but he's charismatic and fun to watch while he just does his thing. Anne Hathaway is decent. I'm not as much of a fan of her performance as other people seem to be. She makes some of those previously mentioned, cringe-y moments even more cringe-y, but she's also often watchable and charismatic. This is far from her best performance but she's alright.
Hathaway's character is what gives the film its feminist bite. I'm not trying to say that the film is even potentially edgy but the feminism that The Intern wears proudly is one of the film's best factors. Robert De Niro has no problem respecting a boss ass lady, as should no one else, and Nancy Meyers broadcasts this message clearly.
And whoa, Nancy Meyers knows how to decorate an interior set. This is a minor plus but I feel like I need to mention it because the production design of The Intern is impeccable. It's actually kind of ridiculous how sleek and modern and comfortable everything looks.
And The Intern's biggest plus, it is quite successful as a feel-good movie. It's breezy, light, and indeed, feel-good. It's charming, cute, and occasionally adorable. There's a lot to be said for a film that can physically put a smile on your face once or twice.
Unfortunately, that only happened once or twice. The film is drowned in cliches, predictability, and only overcome on occasion by the charm of its two leads. In fact, the film hits every beat you expect it to hit. You can see everything that happens from a mile away and it's frustrating. I suppose it might have been too much to ask that Meyers not follow a strict and familiar formula for The Intern.
And the film's screenplay is never as funny as it thinks it is or wants to be. I can't even count all the times I laughed on two hands. Not because that number exceeded ten, but because that number is zero. There are attempts(?) at jokes, I think. Honestly, it's difficult to tell at what parts The Intern is trying to make us laugh. It's either trying much too hard or not enough, and I think it may be the former.
The Intern is not completely unbearable, as it does have effective feel-good moments throughout and the charm of De Niro and Hathaway does not go wasted. And I wasn't expecting much from The Intern. But I didn't expect it to be as lazy as it is.
FINAL GRADE: C-
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some suggestive content and brief strong language
From Nancy Meyers, director of The Holiday, Something's Gotta Give, and It's Complicated, comes The Intern. I have nothing against these films. They're sweet and harmless, if flawed. The Intern can be described as exactly that. There's hardly anything that could be deemed possibly offensive to anyone (maybe meninists, but does anyone really care about those guys?) and the film does have its fair share of smile-inducing, aww moments. It also has its fair share of cringe-inducing, sugary moments that almost prompt a look away from the screen.
Robert De Niro gives a charming performance in this film. Not that he's given a chance to show versatility or even a wide range of emotions; his character arc is surprisingly shallow, but he's charismatic and fun to watch while he just does his thing. Anne Hathaway is decent. I'm not as much of a fan of her performance as other people seem to be. She makes some of those previously mentioned, cringe-y moments even more cringe-y, but she's also often watchable and charismatic. This is far from her best performance but she's alright.
Hathaway's character is what gives the film its feminist bite. I'm not trying to say that the film is even potentially edgy but the feminism that The Intern wears proudly is one of the film's best factors. Robert De Niro has no problem respecting a boss ass lady, as should no one else, and Nancy Meyers broadcasts this message clearly.
And whoa, Nancy Meyers knows how to decorate an interior set. This is a minor plus but I feel like I need to mention it because the production design of The Intern is impeccable. It's actually kind of ridiculous how sleek and modern and comfortable everything looks.
And The Intern's biggest plus, it is quite successful as a feel-good movie. It's breezy, light, and indeed, feel-good. It's charming, cute, and occasionally adorable. There's a lot to be said for a film that can physically put a smile on your face once or twice.
Unfortunately, that only happened once or twice. The film is drowned in cliches, predictability, and only overcome on occasion by the charm of its two leads. In fact, the film hits every beat you expect it to hit. You can see everything that happens from a mile away and it's frustrating. I suppose it might have been too much to ask that Meyers not follow a strict and familiar formula for The Intern.
And the film's screenplay is never as funny as it thinks it is or wants to be. I can't even count all the times I laughed on two hands. Not because that number exceeded ten, but because that number is zero. There are attempts(?) at jokes, I think. Honestly, it's difficult to tell at what parts The Intern is trying to make us laugh. It's either trying much too hard or not enough, and I think it may be the former.
The Intern is not completely unbearable, as it does have effective feel-good moments throughout and the charm of De Niro and Hathaway does not go wasted. And I wasn't expecting much from The Intern. But I didn't expect it to be as lazy as it is.
FINAL GRADE: C-
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some suggestive content and brief strong language