The Intern

Nancy Meyers has had a string of box-office successes since her debut with The Parent Trap seventeen years ago. Her films have found her an audience that admire her entertaining, generally safe stories. Now she's back after a six year break with The Intern starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro. 

Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) finds herself at the helm of an increasingly difficult to manage position. She's the founder and CEO of an e-commerce startup fashion label which has rapidly grown from it's humble beginnings to a staff of hundreds. The company is about to trial a community outreach program that offers internships to seniors. Ben Whitaker (Robert De Niro) is a widower who once used to preside over a phone directory company but has since retired.

As a way to deal with his spare time, and to get away from some not-so-desirable admirers, Ben decides to apply for the internship. After an unnecessarily awkward interview process Ben is given a position and assigned to work with Jules. This position sees Ben attempt to use new-fangled technology such as Facebook. Forced hilarity ensues. After taking a more suitable role of chauffeur, Ben becomes a sort-of pseudo-sensei for Jules. Will their relationship prosper? Will the old ways beat the new? Will Ben get off with the in-house masseuse? These are all questions the film practically begs you to ask.

It's taken me a week to finally write this review, not because The Intern was shockingly bad, but because it left me with a resounding feeling of indifference. On the one hand it manages to pull off some mildly entertaining dialogue but it backs this humor up with thinly-veiled condescending assumptions about the technological ability of older generations. The film seemingly promises to address this stigma, but is ultimately happy enough to just go along with it, under the guise of a "the old way is best" attitude. Meyers is proficient enough to avoid the seemingly obvious ending, but it's too small a band-aid for a resoundingly bland film.

The performances are generally fine, but nothing special. Character development across the board is divided into various stereotypes (think contemporary nerd, new-age business etc) that bring little interest to the film's story. However De Niro and Hathaway manage to pull The Intern out of the dark depths of pre-awards season filler with an on-screen chemistry that far surpasses the reach of their individual characters. The two experienced actors are able to bring a charm to the screen that is lacking in all other aspects of the film, but is it enough to warrant seeing the film? Unless you can tell off the bat that The Intern is pandering to your demographic, probably not.

I can't call The Intern a total failure because I'm certain its occasional spark of wit and strong lead performances will find its intended audience, but sadly that isn't me. A truly forgettable experience.