The Intern is what I call a "paint by the numbers" film. It hits all the necessary notes for this sort of comedy but misses the point of what a movie is supposed to be, like a paint by the numbers painting misses the point of art. It's like a robot has got the premise, seen a lot of comedy/drama-ish feel good films like Driving Miss Daisy, Devil Wears Prada, etc, and decided to spit out a screenplay. It doesn't work, and what does work, is sustained by the actors performances.
The main problem with the film is the lack of structure. The main protagonist is Ben, at least, that's what the audience is supposed to be led to believe. His life starts the film, he is the one that leads the audience to the situation, but he has no flaws. He has no dilemma. He has absolutely no character arc. He is a widower with too much free time and sort of has a void to be filled, I guess? He doesn't seem to be suffering, and all of his problems are solved at the first 5 minutes. Done. What is his change after that? Nothing. He is a perfect gentleman who does not learn anything in particular, does not grow, has no epiphany or real change. He is a mentor figure, he is not a protagonist.
Jules is the protagonist, but I guess the director did not know that fact. She sort of has a character arc, but it goes by so awkwardly it's just confusing. She has problems with her marriage, which are sort of represented by her husband sleeping when she wants to have sex. She seems to have trouble managing the company, but characters SAY she is having trouble, we don't see it. We have no sense of urgency, no crisis, characters SAY she has trouble managing it all. First rule of film media is: SHOW, don't tell.
Then there's the whole husband cheating subplot that was sort of created to add tension and drama, but falls so flat it's unbelievable. First, the audience learns about the cheating first, and then the protagonist states she already knows about it. Well thanks for letting us know, you gave us NO indication that was a problem. Second, it is resolved as a Deus Ex Machina, he just begs for her forgiveness and for some weird reason, she's just OK with it. I don't buy it.
Then there are the annoying minor characters that have almost no development, and the most annoying writing decision in the film: adding a scene where they break into the mother's home to delete an e-mail, JUST for the sake of adding a frantic, fast paced highly comical scene where one was needed. It goes absolutely against character! Ben offered to break into the house? What? WHY? He was supposed to be a down to earth, calm, wise man who would know better that Jules talking to her mother and explaining her feelings would be better than doing an illegal break in a mother's home.
Rene Russo's character is a waste, added for two reasons: clichéd, juvenile comedy (oh, he is aroused by that older woman, how hilarious! oh, the fat guy interrupted that massage and could NOT get out of the room silently, so funny!), and to just make the audience accept Ben was seeing someone else and would not, under any circumstances, fall for Anne Hathaway's character (so the hotel room scene is not as awkward as it must he felt while writing it).
Characters just do the most bizarre things just for the sake of hitting the points the movie wants to hit, and it goes absolutely nowhere. Does Ben get the CEO job he so OBVIOUSLY deserved? Nope. He just does Tai Chi and that's it.
There is no turn to a second or third act. The whole thing is muddled, confusing, paced so awkwardly you'd assume there is a real plot cut from the movie. Maybe it was a murder mystery, I don't know. The whole thing is lacking a proper movie structure.
Now, the only reason this deserves a 5/10 and not a 1/10, is the acting chops of Anne Hathaway and Robert DeNiro, who does NOT fake in an acting job as he has done for the past years. He keeps it consistent, keeps it believable, hits the tone and sells of that character. I mean, imagine Bill Murray in that same role. It would not work, because we would not see past the actor when the character is so low-key. DeNiro can do it because he is one of the best, he knows how to pull it off, and he does.
I am saddened by the lost potential. I really like the premise, someone older getting into a modern workplace, learning and teaching. If we got this movie's screenplay and asked for, let's say, Lawrence Kasdan to do one additional rewrite, it would be an instant classic. Oh well. Better luck next time.
The main problem with the film is the lack of structure. The main protagonist is Ben, at least, that's what the audience is supposed to be led to believe. His life starts the film, he is the one that leads the audience to the situation, but he has no flaws. He has no dilemma. He has absolutely no character arc. He is a widower with too much free time and sort of has a void to be filled, I guess? He doesn't seem to be suffering, and all of his problems are solved at the first 5 minutes. Done. What is his change after that? Nothing. He is a perfect gentleman who does not learn anything in particular, does not grow, has no epiphany or real change. He is a mentor figure, he is not a protagonist.
Jules is the protagonist, but I guess the director did not know that fact. She sort of has a character arc, but it goes by so awkwardly it's just confusing. She has problems with her marriage, which are sort of represented by her husband sleeping when she wants to have sex. She seems to have trouble managing the company, but characters SAY she is having trouble, we don't see it. We have no sense of urgency, no crisis, characters SAY she has trouble managing it all. First rule of film media is: SHOW, don't tell.
Then there's the whole husband cheating subplot that was sort of created to add tension and drama, but falls so flat it's unbelievable. First, the audience learns about the cheating first, and then the protagonist states she already knows about it. Well thanks for letting us know, you gave us NO indication that was a problem. Second, it is resolved as a Deus Ex Machina, he just begs for her forgiveness and for some weird reason, she's just OK with it. I don't buy it.
Then there are the annoying minor characters that have almost no development, and the most annoying writing decision in the film: adding a scene where they break into the mother's home to delete an e-mail, JUST for the sake of adding a frantic, fast paced highly comical scene where one was needed. It goes absolutely against character! Ben offered to break into the house? What? WHY? He was supposed to be a down to earth, calm, wise man who would know better that Jules talking to her mother and explaining her feelings would be better than doing an illegal break in a mother's home.
Rene Russo's character is a waste, added for two reasons: clichéd, juvenile comedy (oh, he is aroused by that older woman, how hilarious! oh, the fat guy interrupted that massage and could NOT get out of the room silently, so funny!), and to just make the audience accept Ben was seeing someone else and would not, under any circumstances, fall for Anne Hathaway's character (so the hotel room scene is not as awkward as it must he felt while writing it).
Characters just do the most bizarre things just for the sake of hitting the points the movie wants to hit, and it goes absolutely nowhere. Does Ben get the CEO job he so OBVIOUSLY deserved? Nope. He just does Tai Chi and that's it.
There is no turn to a second or third act. The whole thing is muddled, confusing, paced so awkwardly you'd assume there is a real plot cut from the movie. Maybe it was a murder mystery, I don't know. The whole thing is lacking a proper movie structure.
Now, the only reason this deserves a 5/10 and not a 1/10, is the acting chops of Anne Hathaway and Robert DeNiro, who does NOT fake in an acting job as he has done for the past years. He keeps it consistent, keeps it believable, hits the tone and sells of that character. I mean, imagine Bill Murray in that same role. It would not work, because we would not see past the actor when the character is so low-key. DeNiro can do it because he is one of the best, he knows how to pull it off, and he does.
I am saddened by the lost potential. I really like the premise, someone older getting into a modern workplace, learning and teaching. If we got this movie's screenplay and asked for, let's say, Lawrence Kasdan to do one additional rewrite, it would be an instant classic. Oh well. Better luck next time.