Review: ‘The Intern’ Delivers a Fresh and Fun Age-Defying Friendship

Sabrina Petrafesa / Emertainment Monthly Executive Publisher

The Intern is everything The Internship was trying to be and so much better. In the film senior citizen Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) applies to be an intern at an internet start up to fill the days with something during his retirement. During his internship he becomes the “uncle” of his fellow interns and a guiding light for the CEO Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway).
Despite some incredibly cheesy moments and some really weird/uncomfortable sexual jokes made surrounding De Niro’s character, the film kept up a nice tone and charm that only comes with romanticizing the older generations lifestyle. There’s also a surprisingly nice chemistry between De Niro and Hathaway. The two are adorable and make such a weird pair of friends. A successful young CEO and her seventy-year-old intern? It’s a bit of a hard sell, but the film makes the friendship incredibly natural and moves the idea smoothly away from implausible.
The supporting cast was pretty spectacular as well. With Adam DeVine, Zach Pearlman and Jason Orley as the other interns being brought under the wing of Ben as he pretty much teaches them class and how to be an actual adult. Andrew Rannells played Jules right hand man, Cameron, and the relationship there was superficial, but Rannells performance is fantastic, he had some really great comedic scenes with Hathaway. Nat Wolff even had a cameo at the beginning interviewing Ben to see if he would even get the job.

This film was also pretty feminist. The film portrayed Hathaway’s character as a working mom who’s home life was not lacking in any way. Even when things seem to be a bit bumpy it was never once suggested that it’s Jules’ fault for being a working mom and not making it home to spend time with her family. It was incredibly refreshing to see a powerful, successful woman on screen with a family and a house husband.
In the end this film is worth watching because The Devil Wears Prada fan in anyone will cry out in glee that Hathaway is playing the CEO of a company that sells clothing. It may also make some millennial a bit frustrated watching a seventy year old man get a really nice internship at a really great start up, but Ben is too cute to even care about that fifteen minutes in.
Overall Grade: A-
Watch The Trailer:
[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU3Xban0Y6A[/embedyt]