‘The Intern’ an Affable, Feel Good Film with De Niro and Hathaway at their Best

I really loved this movie. I did. It never fell on my radar. I guess with the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn film “The Internship,” which came out two years earlier, I thought it might be raunchy. But it’s anything but. It’s a treatise on comedy—real comedy (the Shakespearean definition)—and respect, fortitude, and drive. It’s the best I’ve seen Robert De Niro in a long time and the most real I’ve seen Anne Hathaway—and that’s saying a lot given her accomplishments. Coming from Writer/Director Nancy Meyers of “Something’s Gotta Give” fame—not to mention the similarity that could have existed between this movie and “The Devil Wears Prada—the film surprises at every turn. It’s loving, hilarious, and kind. It’s the cinematic version of a big hug. And while it came out 10 years ago, that’s something we could all use right now. 

The set-up for the film could have ended in disaster, but didn’t. Ben (De Niro) is a widower who is feeling lost post retirement. He used to be a VP for a phonebook company when that meant something. Now everyone Googles phone numbers and his endless yoga classes, Chinese lessons, and travels can’t replace his loss of purpose. He answers an ad for a ‘senior intern’ at About the Fit, an Internet clothing startup that became a big hit and too big for its britches in 18 months. At its helm is Jules (Hathaway) a hard-working, driven, and frenzied woman struggling to keep it all together. We learn a lot about her at the opening. She rides a bike through the Brooklyn office. She cares about her work, taking customer service calls to get a feel for what staff and customers go through. And she visits her packing factories to show them the way to fold the clothes into shipping boxes to make her clients feel like they’re getting a present. She cares. 

Comedic Perfection

Meyers writes this film lovingly and with comedic perfection. De Niro is hired as an intern and assigned directly to Jules (of course). And of course she fights it and wants to be left to her own devices. A colleague (Andrew Rannells) lets her know the investors who helped fund her company are strongly suggesting she hire a seasoned CEO to run things. And she’s a wife and mother. Her husband (Anders Holm) volunteered to be a stay at home dad when her company took off, but we see he’s maybe starting to resent it. Yet the film is feminist in the best way. If “Something’s Gotta Give” was about a womanizer finding true love, I feel Meyers got to make the film she really wanted this time. When Jules warms to Ben it’s good for her and everyone around her. He’s the parent she always needed (her mom’s a “raging bitch,” Jules’ words) and has never known a supportive hand. 

This is a decidedly New York movie, but not a self-indulgent one. It takes place in Brooklyn, and I can’t remember a film did it this seriously since “The Squid and the Whale,” though that was cynical and this is the exact opposite. Brownstones and parks line its run-time, and the cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt is pleasing and bright. The offices of About the Fit are modern yet vintage. It’s an unexpected pleasure when Ben reveals he worked 40 years in this very office for his old phonebook company. “We’re super cas, here,” Jules tells him about his suit, but he never leaves home without it. 

A Great Supporting Cast

Ben—true old school—teaches his new officemates about hard work (you never leave before the boss), gentlemanly conduct (always carry a handkerchief), and respect (do this for you, not a guy). And while the film had the potential to devolve into heavy-handed lessons, it always hits in a kind, respectful way without the slightest hint of cynicism. A scene late in the film between Jules and her husband was begging for banality and cliche. But when she tells him, “I think you should start carrying a handkerchief,” it makes you smile through the tension. Meyers’ characters are complicated—none more lovingly than Jules—and she gives them the credit they deserve. 

Yet the best thing about this movie is how Meyers sidesteps every chance for it to become melodramatic with unblinking ease. She interweaves emotional scenes (one between De Niro and Hathaway in a hotel room being the sweetest) with flat-out comedy. I can’t imagine another film where you could write in a heist homage to “Oceans 11” without completely derailing the film into slapstick. However, somehow Meyers does it without losing a step. It doesn’t hurt that the film’s supporting players (Adam Devine, Zack Perlman, Jason Orley, and Nat Wolff mostly) make the film’s comedy light. 

Further supporting players such as Jules’ personal assistant becky (a fun Christina Scherer) and a masseuse/love interest for Ben (Rene Russo, perfectly affable) propel the film further. But what works most is the way that the film’s central theme—of how Benjamin works his way into Jules’ heart and helps heal her in ways she didn’t know she needed—makes the film memorable. “The Intern” is not a film that uses comedy to break up seriousness, but one that uses to as a tool to work its way into our hearts. The ending (the film begins and ends with yoga in the park) couldn’t be more perfect an analogy to slow down, take a breath, and lean into living. 

Watch ‘The Intern’ to Feel Better About Life

But amidst this, “The Intern’s” greatest asset is the grandfatherly aura of De Niro here, the chaotic, hurricane ferocity of Hathaway, and how they gel with perfect chemistry. At the film’s midway she wants to reassign him because he’s getting too close, but by then he’s irreplaceable. And the film wisely avoids every attempt to make fun of Ben’s age (he’s 70), instead focusing on the very real human element it has to offer. I’ve never seen a character go through more emotions in such a short time as Jules here at Hathaway’s hands, nor an elder character become more integral and treated with more respect as De Niro. Both Oscar winners, neither flaunt their star power. You forget you’re watching A-listers and get lost in watching Ben and Jules. “The Intern”—a deeply funny and mature film—is Meyers and her cast at their most human. 

“The Intern” is now streaming on Netflix. If you want to feel better about life, it’s definitely one to check out. It’s unabashedly feminist while simultaneously caring about mens’ feelings. It cares about its’ characters’ more than its plot, and it shows. De Niro and Hathaway are on top of their game here and show us real people we can relate to, not matter how old. The plot gives De Niro a little too much of the giving and not enough receiving, but it’s forgivable. You’ll feel better about the state of the world after watching this film, and maybe that’s the purpose it’s trying to fill. We have enough horror and thrills and violence in so much other cinema. Maybe we need more of this. If that’s Meyers’ thesis, I buy it. And with acting, casting, and story like this as evidence, she may as well be right.