Blu-ray Review: Anne Hathaway And Robert DeNiro Have Fun In Nancy Meyers’ THE INTERN
Nancy Meyers’ The Intern is an enjoyable piece of entertaining fluff. This is a lifestyle movie, a commercial fairy tale where the stakes aren’t very high. It’s not quite up to the standard of What Women Want or Something’s Gotta Give but it is a fun time that makes for an enjoyable two hours in the company of two game stars.
Anne Hathaway is Jules, a young and energetic business woman who owns and runs a start-up e-commerce fashion business who hires 70 year old retiree Ben (Robert DeNiro) as an intern. The old dog soon shows the new kid on the block the best way to run her business and life lessons are learned. You know going in that this will have a happy ending but it’s all about enjoying the fun journey that gets you there.
DeNiro and Hathaway bring star quality and a playfulness to their roles that perfectly matches Meyers’ tome. The former brings a world weariness to his bored retiree who is eager to add more structure to his life. There’s a spark in the actor that hasn’t been visible in some time and he gives Ben a subtle charisma. Hathaway is also good, adding a sprightliness to her character that plays in contrast to DeNiro’s. Rene Russo also makes an appearance as a love interest for DeNiro, but she isn’t given enough to do in a role that feels shoe-horned in just to add a romantic aspect to proceedings.
Meyers is famed for her ‘lifestyle’ movies and The Intern is no different. This is a slick looking movie with fantastic production design that’s aimed at an audience which fails to get enough movies made for them these days. It’s pure Hollywood moviemaking and it bears little resemblance to reality. That’s not the point though, as this is a movie with little subtext, it’s designed to be consumed with a soft drink and pop corn.
A fun diversion, The Intern will appeal to fans of Nancy Meyers’ cinematic output and its two stars. It’s not going to shake the face of cinema but it’s worth checking out if you want to watch something that isn’t too tasking on the mind.
Special Features
You get a few light and fluffy special features on the look of the film and its old vs young themes. They are interesting, but superficial – much like The Intern itself.
