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The Intern comes from writer and director Nancy Meyers, the woman who brought us The Parent Trap and that stalwart evening television movie, Something’s Gotta Give. Like the latter, The Intern addresses age gaps, albeit in a professional rather than romantic setting. It begins with a voiceover from 70-year-old Ben (Robert De Niro). After a lifetime of “love and work, work and love”, he has retired and his wife has passed away. With nothing to do except take part in every extracurricular activity that comes his way, he’s stuck in a semi-meaningful, semi-fun cycle of arts, crafts and weird exercise. The parallels with student life don’t stop there. A poster at his local grocery store offers a way out: becoming a ‘senior intern’ at massive online start-up About the Fit, run by the formidable Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway).
The film takes the notion of a “senior intern” and basically riffs on it for the whole 120 minutes. Meyers’ strength lies in verbal humour, and some of the more slapstick gags fall flat. However, Ben is likeable enough to carry the film through even the cringiest moments, and his dealings with his colleagues are genuinely heartwarming. He seems to have something to offer everyone – dating advice, a couch to sleep on, a shoulder to cry on – and the dynamic quickly shifts so that the youngsters are at the butt of nearly every joke. Too joke-light for a straightforward comedy, the film ends up feeling like a rom-com without the central romance – a very enjoyable formula. Ben and Jules’ relationship is incredibly charming and despite lacking any real tension, it develops enough throughout the film to remain interesting. The minor characters, although a little one-dimensional, complement this central relationship and provide outlets for various aspects of Ben’s personality to shine.
Issues around parenting, corporate culture, and most prominently feminism are dealt with, albeit to a level that rests easy with casual entertainment. Jules, founder of a company that has gone from a dinner-table discussion to a company employing 200 people in 18 months, and mother to a little girl, is a modern superwoman. She cycles around the open-plan loft office on her pristine white lady-bike and and takes customer calls with more enthusiasm and concern than any drone lower down the pecking order ever could (presumably because she does it once a day rather than 100 times). The story centres around her position within the company being threatened by the prospect of a (male) CEO being brought in to relieve the pressure on her, a notion that is popular among her staff. At one point Jules says to herself: “It’s 2015. Are we really still critical of working moms?” It’s a pointed question, considering we’ve spent the majority of the film becoming acquainted with the problems her working life brings home in the evenings.
The modern office setting works well, combining the right mix of smooth aesthetic charm with funny nods to contemporary corporate culture. No one sleeps, gets paid properly, or is shown any concern by management, yet enthusiasm is so high that a large bell being rung elicits wild applause whenever someone reaches a target. An incredibly repetitive, upbeat instrumental refrain ushers in the start of every bright new working day in the office, and begins to make you feel like you are trapped in a Sims game. Other music choices are spot on, especially Kendrick Lamar’s i.
The Intern is a film where not that much happens, built around many minor conflicts. There are a lot of wide shots of people in action: talking, phoning, emailing, folding clothes. A dramatic twist comes relatively late, bringing with it a welcome bit of intrigue and resulting in some great dialogue. Unfortunately the situation isn’t resolved in a particularly convincing or satisfying way, which brings down the film’s ending. Meyers has created a bright, shiny world that we want to spend time in, but tire of just as the closing credits roll. One gets the impression she could do a lot more with her material if she quit making films that are so damn agreeable.
The Intern is currently showing at Cineworld.
