The Intern (2015)
Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Linda Lavin, Adam DeVine. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers.
I smiled almost as soon as Robert De Niro’s voiceover in the opening sequence began, and twenty minutes later, I was still smiling. I honestly can’t think of another time where this happened, but De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, and The Intern did it to me with unending sincerity and sweetness.
Its premise seems unlikely, but everything works in this film to make it believable. De Niro is Ben Whittaker, a seventy-year-old widower who has found a peaceful life in retirement, but feels something missing: something to look forward to every morning, a reason to get out of bed and experience the day. He responds to a flyer seeking senior citizens to serve in internships with a new dot-com in his neighborhood. About the Fit, a Zappos-like online clothing retailer, knows that its product is not dresses but customer service, a philosophy modeled by its founder, Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), who takes time between meetings to answer customer service calls herself, grabbing a spot at a computer along with the other customer service representatives.
Ben is assigned to be Jules’s dedicated intern, an arrangement she insists she has no time or need for. But Ben is competent and willing. He accepts his position as the lowest person on the totem pole, but keeps his eyes open for opportunities to help others, not only in job related tasks, but also with attitudes about work attire, advice about girlfriends, and a keen understanding of the traffic patterns around the company headquarters.
Almost none of it is forced. Each look of appreciation by others is a response to some sincere aspect of Ben’s experience and talent. Jules knows that the other moms in the neighborhood gossip about her not being a good parent, but she doesn’t know how to prove mettle with them. When Ben escorts Jules’s young daughter to a party and hears what they’re saying, he doesn’t confront them about their unfairness. He assumes good faith, speaks a few words to appeal to their better selves, and leaves it there. It is one convicting example of Ben’s ability to extend grace and to coax grace from others, and if grace is not forthcoming this time, he’ll give it another shot some other time.
The film walks a careful line as it develops the Ben-Jules relationship. It’s determined not to be a romantic comedy, but it’s got so many of the elements that we keep thinking it will go there, the whole time praying it won’t. It succeeds on the strength of the sincerity of its main characters: we extend Jules and Ben the benefit of the doubt because they extend it to each other and to those around them. Some of this benefit of the doubt is pressed into service for the audience as well, as a wacky hijinks scene threatens to derail all the good work the film has done so far.
I really can’t say enough about how sweet this movie is. I just wanted to give all the actors a hug when it was over, and I’m not a huggy person.
8/10 (IMDb rating)
82/100 (Criticker rating)
The Intern (2015)
Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Linda Lavin, Adam DeVine. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers.
I smiled almost as soon as Robert De Niro’s voiceover in the opening sequence began, and twenty minutes later, I was still smiling. I honestly can’t think of another time where this happened, but De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, and The Intern did it to me with unending sincerity and sweetness.
Its premise seems unlikely, but everything works in this film to make it believable. De Niro is Ben Whittaker, a seventy-year-old widower who has found a peaceful life in retirement, but feels something missing: something to look forward to every morning, a reason to get out of bed and experience the day. He responds to a flyer seeking senior citizens to serve in internships with a new dot-com in his neighborhood. About the Fit, a Zappos-like online clothing retailer, knows that its product is not dresses but customer service, a philosophy modeled by its founder, Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), who takes time between meetings to answer customer service calls herself, grabbing a spot at a computer along with the other customer service representatives.
Ben is assigned to be Jules’s dedicated intern, an arrangement she insists she has no time or need for. But Ben is competent and willing. He accepts his position as the lowest person on the totem pole, but keeps his eyes open for opportunities to help others, not only in job related tasks, but also with attitudes about work attire, advice about girlfriends, and a keen understanding of the traffic patterns around the company headquarters.
Almost none of it is forced. Each look of appreciation by others is a response to some sincere aspect of Ben’s experience and talent. Jules knows that the other moms in the neighborhood gossip about her not being a good parent, but she doesn’t know how to prove mettle with them. When Ben escorts Jules’s young daughter to a party and hears what they’re saying, he doesn’t confront them about their unfairness. He assumes good faith, speaks a few words to appeal to their better selves, and leaves it there. It is one convicting example of Ben’s ability to extend grace and to coax grace from others, and if grace is not forthcoming this time, he’ll give it another shot some other time.
The film walks a careful line as it develops the Ben-Jules relationship. It’s determined not to be a romantic comedy, but it’s got so many of the elements that we keep thinking it will go there, the whole time praying it won’t. It succeeds on the strength of the sincerity of its main characters: we extend Jules and Ben the benefit of the doubt because they extend it to each other and to those around them. Some of this benefit of the doubt is pressed into service for the audience as well, as a wacky hijinks scene threatens to derail all the good work the film has done so far.
I really can’t say enough about how sweet this movie is. I just wanted to give all the actors a hug when it was over, and I’m not a huggy person.
8/10 (IMDb rating)
82/100 (Criticker rating)
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