Film Review: The Intern

This weeks film review is on the 2015 comedy The Intern directed, written and produced by Nancy Meyers and starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in the lead roles with Rene Russo, Anders Holm, Andrew Rannells, Adam DeVine, and Zack Pearlman in supporting roles.

Before I go further I will say that there will be spoilers, so if you intend to watch the film and don't like spoilers wait to see the film first.

When retirement becomes too boring for seventy-year-old widower Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) he applies for a senior citizen intern programme and becomes one of four new interns at About The Fit, a fast growing e-commerce fashion company based in Brooklyn. Ben is assigned to work with Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) the founder and CEO, she is initially sceptical and keeps him at a distance, however he wins over co-workers and gets into Jules good graces. One day after work Ben notices Jules's Chauffeur drinking, so gets him to leave and drives Jules himself, which he continues for the next few days. He develops a romantic relationship with the in-house massage therapist, Fiona (Rene Russo), and becomes something of a father figure to several of the younger workers: by offering advice about issues such as love, clothes sense and work/life balance, even offering Davis (Zack Pearlman) a place to stay when his parents kick him out. Ben becomes very committed to Jules even getting to know her husband Matt (Anders Holm) who became a stay-at-home dad to their daughter when About The Fit took off, however Jules and Matt are growing more distant putting strain on their marriage. 

Jules is under pressure from her investors to hire an external CEO as they feel she is unable to cope with the workload she has, believing it can help fix her marriage Jules meets with several unsuitable candidates. The day before Jules and Ben fly to San Francisco to meet another potential CEO Ben discovers that Matt is having an affair, while in San Francisco Jules confides in Ben that she knows about the affair but isn't ready to deal with it so hasn't confronted Matt. Jules hires the CEO in an effort to buy herself time to save her marriage, Ben urges her to think about how much it will change her involvement with the company and reminds her of her passion which no one else can have. Matt unexpectedly turns up at the office and urges her to reconsider the CEO, he says he is sorry and ashamed, he has ended the affair and wants to support her dreams and fix their marriage. Jules calls the CEO to tell him she has reconsidered and goes to find Ben to tell him, finding him enjoying Tai Chi she joins in and the film ends with the two side by side smiling, finally relaxing.

I absolutely loved this film, it is definitely one of the best comedies I have ever seen and one of the best performances I have seen from both lead actors. The overall concept of the film is brilliant, it is even more proof that getting old doesn't mean you can't learn new things or have new experiences, this isn't news to anyone I am sure but sometimes people need reminding. The concept of an older person helping a younger person in business is not a new one, however the roles are normally the other way round but in this case the more senior member of the company is the less senior in years. This film also highlights the strength a female CEO needs to have as it is a mans world but women can compete just as well, even if too many people think they can't, the best part of how Ben helps Jules is that he doesn't tell her how to do her job he points things out to her and offers advice on several areas of life and management, all learnt when he himself was an executive. I also loved how Ben connected with some of the younger characters teaching them life skills that while seeming non essential help them out greatly in life and had a knock on effect to the company. The situation with Jules's family life is a difficult one as to start with there was no suggestion that she had a family as she was so committed to working constantly but then we see the knock on effect that this has on her marriage. It is clear they are having problems due to the amount Jules works and puts into her company but at the same time Matt seems so set on acting like he's supporting Jules that he goes elsewhere for his emotional and physical needs, therefore putting more strain on the marriage. I am glad the conclusion of this situation was jointly agreeing to work on the marriage yet still allowing Jules to put her all into her company.

The acting in this film was great from all but primarily the leads, not only were Robert and Anne incredible individually but also together, the chemistry they had and the way you can tell they had fun really helped bring life to the characters making them their own. Robert definitely used all his years of experience and life to help form the character of Ben, he was the perfect fit for both the company and Jules (which is ironic considering the company is called About The Fit). It was great how he came not knowing a lot about the internet and computers but quickly found his way with a bit of help from the younger employees that he paid in kind later in the film. I liked that Ben was given a love interest but that it wasn't the main aspect of his out of work life as he also helped Davis, initially advising on apartments then taking him in when he literally gets made homeless, these add to Ben's character and how much we get to know him plus fall in love with him. One of the best things about Ben is his unwavering honest both verbally and facially, as proven when he tries to hide the knowledge of Matt's affair but ends up seeming to be in a bad mood and distracted. It is clear that Ben cares for Jules almost as a daughter but also a friend with the way he gives advice and points things out, especially when he lays it all out near the end. Then we have Anne bringing Jules to life incredibly too, the hectic CEO trying to juggle everything, however she is introduced talking to a customer and solving an issue with a product. From the very beginning we get to see the passion that Jules has for the company she created, perfectly shown with Anne's display with tone of voice, mannerisms and facial expressions all coming together to represent someone who actually cares about all aspects of the company. The initial contact between Ben and Jules is brief as she is doing so much but when she let's him in and they form their friendship we get to know even more about the person behind the caring CEO. The family situation I have covered but there is a brilliant part when Jules is telling Ben about Matt becoming a stay-at-home dad to allow her to focus on her company, the way she says it and her expression really shows how much Jules loves Matt but also regrets the issues in her marriage. Then again when she talks to Ben about it, there are so many emotions at play in these scenes and Anne makes you feel them all by traversing them expertly, especially as she does the same in the work aspect giving the two sides of her life just as much authenticity. All together the acting of the two leads is what brings the film to life the most and makes it so enjoyable to watch as they develop individually and together.

Overall I have said I love the film and honestly I could watch this over and over again enjoying it just as much every time. This is going to be a favourite comedy for a while to come and will definitely be introduced to my son when he is old enough.

My rating for The Intern is 9.5/10