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“You should feel nothing but great about what you've done, and I'd hate to see you let anyone take that away from you.”
-Ben
Review of the Movie in a Phrase: You’re never too old to keep an open mind.
Behind at least one successful woman, there's guidance by an older, wiser man. That's the main takeaway from "The Intern," a curvy generation-gap fable that managed to sneak some surprisingly conservative gender politics into its stainless latest era of internet startups and abundantly product-placed Mac books.
Introduction
Movie’s Name - The Intern
Director - Nancy Meyers
Genre - Drama, Comedy
Original Language - English
Cast - Robert De Niro as Ben Whittaker; Anne Hathaway as Jules Ostin; Rene Russo as Fiona; Anders Holm as Matt; JoJo Kushner as Paige
Rating - PG-13 (Some Suggestive Content | Brief Strong Language)
Elevator Pitch
To cut a long story short(er), Everything works out well for both the protagonists- Ben and Jules. They both assist each other in obtaining what they desire, and possibly even what they require.
I did enjoy the film's parody of modern technology culture: The headquarters of About the Fit are in a renovated warehouse in Brooklyn, with rows of Mac computers, beer freezers, an in-house massage therapist, and a bunch of twenty-somethings in Converse.
It recognises age as a value in and of itself. (“Intern,” of course, is ironic in this context, since it is the intern who ends up teaching the boss, etc.,) Jules owns and operates a successful business (an e-commerce startup). She's capable and hardworking, but her investors believe she's too young to run her business now that it's an authoritative business.
Ben, for his part, is looking for work following his retirement and the death of his wife. “Don't get me wrong: I'm not unhappy,” Ben admits in voice over:
“I just know there's a hole in my life that I need to fill.”
The Opening Shot
Ben, a retired New York businessman who is lonely and bored after his wife died, applies for a job as a "senior intern" for Jules, a talented young mother who runs an on-line clothing shop "About the Fit." Eventually she realises her marriage is in trouble as a result of her job, so she searches for a CEO.
Meanwhile, Ben becomes her driver by circumstance, and later her confidant, offering advice, dispensing words of wisdom and loving her and her family. Ben even starts to develop feelings for the company masseuse, who is just nine years younger than him.
However, The Intern's main plot avoids tired rom-com cliches by making the obligatory Thing That Divides the Couple in Question generational rather than circumstantial. Ben (De Niro) is older, and Jules (Hathaway) is younger; this is the film's major plot driver.
The unquestioned and unassailable premise of The Intern is that Ben has something to offer Jules: advice that is backed up by experience, Caring that has been cultivated through life experience. The film's most redeeming feature is that it insists on respecting the wisdom of experience.
Directional Aspects
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| Image Credit: The Crosswalk |
"How, in one generation, have men gone from guys like Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford to... take Ben here, A dying breed. You know? Look and learn, boys. Because if you ask me, this is what cool is."
- Jules
Nonetheless. Who comes out looking great in all of this? Ben. This is, without a doubt, his film. And there's something powerful in the fact that The Intern is so sympathetic to its older character—so firmly on the side of someone who might be dismissed, ignored, or, as is so often the case, invisible in other contexts.
On the one hand, the film suffers from all of the flaws that recent Nancy Meyers films have (Rich People Problems, White People Problems, a general coating of bland entitlement and perky dysfunction); on the other hand, it is probably the best of the recent Nancy Meyers films.
This is largely due to the subtle, compelling performances of Anne Hathaway and, in particular, Rober De Niro, but it’s admirable because of the kind of rom-com The Intern is.
The Content and Message
Having said that, there were a number of moments in the film that transported the audience back in time by around fifty years. Jules' husband, who left his job in marketing to stay at home and help Jules establish her company, makes a joke about their daughter's friend being bipolar, prompting Paige to repeat it to Jules in front of the other little girl.
Turns out, we're still judgmental of working mothers in 2015, and we still think it's acceptable to insult a seven-year-old with mental illness. Furthermore, there appeared to be a high value placed on male approval, which Jules spent the entire film searching for and eventually finding in her intern.
“Well, I was going to say intern slash best friend.”
- Jules Ostin
Ben's approval and opinion are more important to Jules than anything else—after all, he is the last decent, gentlemanly guy on Earth. Together, they both roll their eyes at the young men in Jules' office who do not adhere to traditional masculinity rules. “How have men progressed from Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford in gentlemanly suits to...” Jules asks, trailing off as she observes the employees dressed in hoodies and fitted tees.
Jules appears to believe that everyone else pales in comparison to the man who still makes a point of carrying a handkerchief in his pocket because, and here I quote, “women cry” and one never knows when they may need to dab their tears.
Feminine Gaze in the Movie
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Nobody calls men "men" anymore. Have you noticed? Women went from "girls" to "women."Men went from "men" to "boys?" This is a problem in the big picture.
-Jules (Anne Hathaway)
Marital stability and professional success are indeed the two goals that define “The Intern's” characters and story line, at the expense of any wider personal or cultural interests. The power dynamic between them is awkward from the start, with Jules complaining that her seasoned intern is "too observant."
Within that, there is some discussion of the difficulties that women face in the tech industry. The characters in the film pass judgement on Jules' dedication to both her company and her family.
In one shot, a group of moms at Jules's daughter's school tell her that she can just buy the guacamole for the forthcoming school event because she "probably won't have time to make it."
Jules responds by simply saying that she is capable of making it herself. “Is it really 2015 if we're still passing judgement on working mothers?”
Quirky Highlights from the Movie
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“I just knew a woman at the end of the day with a glass of wine and a laptop has real shopping potential.”
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“It's 2015, are we really still critical of working moms?”
-Jules (Anne Hathaway)
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| Image Credit: Pinterest |
“Mark Zuckerberg never brought in a CEO - and he was a teenager!”
- Jules (Anne Hathaway)
Image Credit: Pinterest
“Retirement is an ongoing, relentless effort in creativity. Believe me, I've tried everything. I just know there's a hole in my life and I need to fill it... soon.”
- Ben (Robert De Niro)
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| Image Credit: Pinterest |
"Love that there's another oldie but goodie here... How's that, Ben?"
-Fiona
The Bottom Line
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| Image Credit: OSN |
- Ben: "You're never wrong to do the right thing".
- Jules: Who said that, you?
- Ben: Yeah. But I'm pretty sure Mark Twain said it first.
The Intern tells a heartfelt multi-generational series of stories without relying too heavily on its traditional, yet entertaining, heartfelt tropes. The Intern is a lot more fun, and hence its lessons deserve to be shared.
But here's the thing: "The Intern," for all of its silly moments, is Meyer's most genuinely enjoyable and likable film to date. What could I say about the movie? You’re never too old to keep an open mind.
So after a flurry of action-packed or dark, hard-hitting films, I decided to watch The Intern this weekend, and boy, glad I did! Take a chance. Go for it. A film that makes you feel good, soft, and wonderful, is a must watch.
My ratings for the movie - 3.5 on 5
Written By - Prakriti Chaudhary
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