“The Intern” features two really solid performances from Anne Hathaway, as Jules Ostin, and Robert De Niro, as her senior citizen intern, Ben Whittaker. Jules is the founder of an online fashion website, and she works a lot of hours. In fact, she barely sees her stay-at-home husband, Matt, who is father to their young daughter. Ben is a widower and wants to feel useful, and when Jules hires him, she doesn’t have anything for him to do at first. However, he helps others in the office, becomes popular, and she finally engages his help. She soon learns that he is a keen observer of people, and he begins to look out for her, even telling her driver to take a hike for the day when he sees him drinking before he is about to drive Jules in his car.
Jules is concerned about Ben’s insights and has him transferred to help another person, but then immediately realizes she made a mistake. She apologizes to him and gets him back, which is good. She faces a crisis, with which only the calm, experienced and caring Ben can help her. The comedic moments include a funny scene in which someone asks Ben, upon learning he graduated from college in 1965, if he could remember what his major was.
The film is witty and tells a good story, one that positively states an older person can bring experience and assurance to a situation at work, or elsewhere. Ben even gets the guys, laid-back dressers, to start wearing ties to the office! He also has a handkerchief available whenever it is needed for a woman’s tears, or any other need. Unfortunately, due to a strong expletive, the film falls short of receiving our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal. Regrettably, it came close.