The Intern

The Intern

Starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Anders Holm

Directed by Nancy Meyers

The Story:
Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) is a 70-year-old widower who is bored with retirement and seeks out new adventures.  He applies for a senior internship at the young, hip, fashionable company called About the Fit, founded by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), that focuses on e-commerce fashion.

He gets the position and immediately begins making friends with his younger co-interns and workers, and finds that he's interning under Jules herself.  Jules is a fast-paced boss who is very wary of other people, and at first is against the idea of having Ben as her personal intern, but as he begins to help her and gets involved with her family, she begins to warm up to his charm and eager helpfulness, which will be of critical importance as she faces some serious work and life struggles that only someone older than her can help her with.

The Synopsis:
Nancy Meyers is one of the most acclaimed female directors of this generation, having brought forth such female-friendly classics like "What Women Want," "Something's Gotta Give," and "It's Complicated."  With "The Intern," she once again delves into the well of female-friendly romantic comedies, and comes forth with another nugget of gold.

At first, I felt "The Intern" would be one of those typical older people trying to deal with the new generation movies, and it seemed to follow that pattern at first, as Ben asked about what a USB port and Facebook were, but as the film continued those easy comparisons disappeared, and the true heart of the film began to beat. 

Robert De Niro takes on a much different role than what he's used to, when you look back at classics like "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver," as now he's a highly mild-mannered senior citizen who sees the bright side of everything, offers fatherly advice without being overbearing, and has a genuine love of life and love of other people.  There's not a bad bone in his body, as he spends the whole film helping others.  It's almost sickening in its sweetness, but then this world needs more people like Ben.

Anne Hathaway once again delivers a great performance as the seemingly bi-polar Jules.  At first she has a strong dislike for Ben and his thoughtful nature, and she even goes as far as to have him removed as her intern.  However, almost right away, she realizes the error of her mistake and takes him back, and the two form a deep friendship that goes beyond a father/daughter feel and becomes more of a BFF situation.  As she faces some of her most darkest moments, Ben is the light that shines, and the one she turns to for guidance.

It really pains me to say this, because this isn't one of those types of movies that I generally like, but "The Intern" left me with a smile on my face and hope for humanity.  Sure, it's not perfect, but neither is life.  We all need a little Ben in our lives, and we should strive to be Ben to other people. 

The Summary:
"The Intern" brilliantly mixes humor and heart, and shows us that if we're nicer to one another, good things will come back to us.

The Score: A-