A Break: "The Intern"

For any of my readers who have been bored by my posts about US recent Supreme Court bankruptcy decision, read on.

A few days we ago we went to see The Intern starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. We recommend it. De Niro as Ben Whittaker plays a retired and widowed former senior executive who responds to an ad for "senior interns" for an internet startup. He's hired and assigned to the frenetic (if a bit stereotypical) president/founder Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway). Through the course of the film Jules comes to appreciate Ben's wisdom and the benefits of his experience in business and life. But rather than work through the movie myself, I'll let Drew Trotter, whose film criticism I respect, explain why The Intern is a good film: 

The Intern is a nice piece of light entertainment with some good comments on the benefit of experience in the marketplace, ageism and work, workaholism and family, women in the workplace, and attitudes toward work itself that make it a very good film for discussion. Anne Hathaway plays Jules Ostin, a no-nonsense fashion designer with good instincts who has created her own online fashion company called “About the Fit” and moved it to the size that the company needs to decide whether to hire a CEO from outside. Tensions arise from Ostin’s family commitments, her work commitments, her self-evaluation, and her employee relations that create crises small and large, which need to be resolved.

Enter Robert DeNiro as Ben Whittaker, a retired executive, who has grown bored with retirement. Whittaker applies for an internship at “About the Fit”, is hired, and after a brief time becomes Jules’s trusted assistant. Whittaker employees a solid work ethic, street smarts based on years of experience and simply patient, caring eyes and ears to solve the problems he can, give advice where appropriate and generally create the happy ending the film needed.

The Intern is a “modern” comedy in every way. Some of its advice will make the Christian cringe; some of the values simply taken for granted will not be those of a follower of Jesus. Overall, though, the film is a nice night out, or a nice night in front of the video monitor, and that is rare nowadays for comedies.

We agree fully with Drew's analysis and conclusion and so commend The Intern for your viewing pleasure. (Of course, the film's business conclusion--that Jules should remain as CEO of her growing startup--isn't equally commendable. Simply remember this is a comedy, about relationships and wisdom, not a B-school case study.)