It's hard out there for rom-coms these days. Nicholas Sparks has conquered the weepy romances, and Judd Apatow has cornered the market on raunchy rom-coms starring man-children. But what about the fluff? What about those of us who just want a shiny, fluffy rom-com that never makes us think too hard and brings on the warm fuzzies? The Intern is your answer, friend.
Warm, fuzzy, and fluffy are all appropriate adjectives for Nancy Meyers' The Intern, which stars Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. De Niro plays 70-year-old retired widower Ben Whittaker who, bored out of his mind, takes on a "senior internship" at a tech start up in Brooklyn helmed by Jules Ostin (Hathaway), who started the company out of her kitchen 18 months prior. As expected, Ben quickly becomes an office favorite, befriending the other twenty-something interns and eventually bonding closely with Jules as she struggles to decide if she should hire an external CEO to help her manage her increasingly successful business.
Much like Meyers' other flicks like Something's Gotta Give and The Holiday, there's not much in the way of "˜unexpected' here. Hathaway and De Niro are more than capable of helming the film, and their chemistry mixes well enough to create a believable friendship between Ben and Jules. It's fun to watch De Niro in such a subdued role, and he imbues Ben with a lot of charm and ease. Anders Holm appears in a more serious role as Jules's stay-at-home-husband Matt, although I can't say Holm knocked it out of the park. He faltered without the silliness of his humor to fall back on. The plot itself is glossy and easy to get into even though their troubles seem to embody the phrase "first world problems".
Still, at the end of the day, The Intern is enjoyable fluff and an easy watch. With a run time right at two hours, it can feel a bit languid in places but overall flows well. Meyers' world is lush and gorgeous. As usual for her films, the sets are phenomenal. The houses and décor are impeccably designed and keep you wondering how these people can afford such extravagant places in Brooklyn. This is a good film to watch with your mother (although be warned there is sexual humor) because there's nothing harmless in it. And at the end of the day, we all need harmless films at some point.
