''The Intern'' is a 2015 American
buddy
Buddy may refer to:
People
* Buddy (nickname)
* Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present)
*Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992)
* Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), A ...
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film directed, written, and produced by
Nancy Meyers
Nancy Jane Meyers (born December 8, 1949) is an American filmmaker. She has written, produced, and directed many critically and commercially successful films including '' Private Benjamin'' (1980), '' Irreconcilable Differences'' (1984), ''Baby ...
. The film stars
Robert De Niro,
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 20 ...
, and
Rene Russo, with supporting performances from
Anders Holm
Anders Christian Holm (born May 29, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central show '' Workaholics'' and starred in the short-lived NBC series ''Champions''. He, along wi ...
,
Andrew Rannells,
Adam DeVine
Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series '' Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Pa ...
, and
Zack Pearlman
Zachary Michael Pearlman (born May 19, 1988) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zack in '' The Virginity Hit''. He has co-starred in short-lived television comedies such as MTV's ''The Inbetweeners'' and on the Fox sitcom '' ...
. The plot follows a 70-year-old widower who becomes a senior intern at an online fashion website, where he forms an unlikely friendship with the company's workaholic CEO. The film was released on September 25, 2015, by
Warner Bros. It received mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $195 million worldwide against a $35 million production budget.
Plot
Seventy-year-old widower Ben Whittaker, a
Northwestern-educated retired executive from
DEX One
Dex One Corporation was an American marketing company providing online, mobile and print search marketing via their DexKnows.com website, print yellow pages directories and pay-per-click ad networks in the U.S.
In April 2013 Dex One merged with ...
, applies to fill the newly conceived position of senior intern, after retirement has become too boring for him. He applies to About The Fit, a fast-growing
e-commerce fashion startup in
Brooklyn. Founder and CEO Jules Ostin had previously agreed to a community outreach program where seniors would intern at the firm. Ben impresses everyone and is one of four hired.
Ben is assigned to work with Jules, who is somewhat skeptical at first. Initially frozen out by her, Ben slowly wins over co-workers with his congeniality and gets into Jules's good graces. He also helps numerous employees with their tasks. Ben comes to work at 7:00 A.M. one day to organize a messy desk that Jules had complained about previously. After work, Ben notices Jules's chauffeur drinking, convinces the driver to leave and drives Jules home himself, a role he retains in days to come. On their first drive together, Ben asks several questions about Jules' personal life, and she asks one of her employees to transfer Ben to be an intern for someone else. But by the end of the day, they become very close. The next day, Jules arrives to the car to see Ben has been replaced as her driver by Doris. Doris is a horrible driver, driving into someone else's car and almost crashing into a building. Jules drives to About The Fit and begs Ben to come back, and so he does as she has no license.
Ben eventually reveals that he once worked in the very same building where About The Fit is now based. He develops a romantic relationship with the in-house massage therapist, Fiona, and becomes something of a father figure to several of the younger workers: by offering advice about issues such as love, clothes sense and work/life balance. He provides one of them with a place to stay at his
brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic– Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material.
Typ ...
after being evicted by his parents. Ben becomes very committed to Jules, and even breaks into the house of Jules' mother to delete an embarrassingly scathing email, narrowly avoiding getting arrested in the process. Ben also gets to know Jules' family. Her husband, Matt, gave up his own career to be a
stay-at-home dad to their daughter, Paige, when About The Fit started to take off. However, their marriage is slowly breaking apart as the couple grows more distant.
Meanwhile, Jules is under pressure to give up her post of CEO to someone outside of the company as her investors feel that she is unable to cope with the workload, having grown About The Fit from a startup founded in her kitchen to a 220-employee juggernaut in only eighteen months. Believing it will give her more time at home with her family, Jules is willing to consider the proposal. When driving Paige home from a party, Ben discovers that Matt is having an affair with another parent at Paige's school. While on a business trip in
San Francisco to interview a potential CEO candidate, Jules reveals that she knows about Matt's cheating, but did not confront Matt about it because she was not ready to deal with it.
In an effort to buy herself time to save her marriage, Jules decides to hire a prospective CEO. When Jules goes to Ben's home the next day, Ben greatly encourages Jules to think about how much this will change her authority and how her creativity may be hindered and also reminds her of her passion for her company. Matt unexpectedly drops in at the office and urges her to reconsider, saying that he is sorry, ashamed, and wants to support her in her dreams. Jules goes out looking for Ben, wanting to tell him that she has changed her mind and finds him enjoying his
tai chi
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...
exercise group. She finally lets herself relax and joins him in practicing tai chi, an act symbolic of her finding balance in her life.
Cast
*
Robert De Niro as Ben Whittaker
*
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 20 ...
as Jules Ostin
*
Rene Russo as Fiona
*
Anders Holm
Anders Christian Holm (born May 29, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is one of the stars and creators of the Comedy Central show '' Workaholics'' and starred in the short-lived NBC series ''Champions''. He, along wi ...
as Matt Ostin
*
Andrew Rannells as Cameron
*
Adam DeVine
Adam Patrick Devine (born November 7, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the stars and co-creators of the Comedy Central comedy television series '' Workaholics'' and '' Adam Devine's House Pa ...
as Jason
*
Zack Pearlman
Zachary Michael Pearlman (born May 19, 1988) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zack in '' The Virginity Hit''. He has co-starred in short-lived television comedies such as MTV's ''The Inbetweeners'' and on the Fox sitcom '' ...
as Davis
* Jason Orley as Lewis
* Christina Scherer as Becky
* JoJo Kushner as Paige Ostin
*
Nat Wolff as Justin
*
Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway.
After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Com ...
as Patty
*
Celia Weston
Celia Weston is an American character actress. Weston received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in '' Dead Man Walking'' (1995), and also had supporting roles in more than 40 movies, including ''The Talented Mr. Ripley' ...
as Doris
*
Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emm ...
as Mrs. Ostin (voice only)
*
Steve Vinovich
Steve Vinovich (born January 22, 1945) is an American actor.
Biography
Vinovich was born in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Jennie J. (née Kuhel), a secretary, and Stephen J. Vinovich, an insurance salesman. His paternal grandparents are Croatian. ...
as Miles
*
Molly Bernard
Molly Kate Bernard (born April 10, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lauren Heller on the television series '' Younger''.
Life and career
Molly Bernard began her career in 2000 in the drama ''Pay It Forward'' bes ...
as Samantha
Production
Originally set up at
Paramount Pictures, ''The Intern'' was planned to feature
Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...
and
Michael Caine in the lead roles. Handed over to
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, Fey was replaced by
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...
as the attached star, though Witherspoon left the film on January 15, 2014, due to scheduling conflicts.
On February 7, 2014,
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 20 ...
was in final talks to replace Witherspoon in the lead role.
Stephen Goldblatt
Stephen Goldblatt, A.S.C., B.S.C. (born 29 April 1945) is a South African-born British cinematographer, noted for his work on numerous high-profile action films, including the first two entries in the ''Lethal Weapon'' series, as well as fo ...
was set as director of photography. On June 23, 2014,
Zack Pearlman
Zachary Michael Pearlman (born May 19, 1988) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zack in '' The Virginity Hit''. He has co-starred in short-lived television comedies such as MTV's ''The Inbetweeners'' and on the Fox sitcom '' ...
joined the cast of the film.
Filming
Principal photography began on June 23, 2014, in
Brooklyn,
New York City, where De Niro was spotted on the set of the film. Filming was completed on October 2, 2014.
Reception
Box office
''The Intern'' grossed $75.7 million in North America and $118.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $194.6 million, against a net production budget of $35 million.
The film opened alongside ''
Hotel Transylvania 2'' and was projected to gross $15–20 million in its opening weekend.
It grossed $17.7 million, finishing second at the box office behind ''Hotel Transylvania 2'' ($48.5 million).
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 59% based on 193 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Intern'' doesn't do enough with its timely premise, but benefits from the unorthodox chemistry of its talented leads." On
Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Richard Roeper of ''
The Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film an "A−", stating, "With some genuinely insightful dialogue, a number of truly funny bits of physical business, and small scenes allowing us to get know and like a half-dozen supporting players,"
Manohla Dargis
Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Career
Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
of ''
The New York Times'' wrote that the film was similar to Meyers's other works, stating that it was "frothy, playful, homogeneous, routinely maddening and generally pretty irresistible." Despite criticizing Meyers's screenplay and "conflicted ideas about powerful women," Dargis praised the casting of De Niro, stating he "owns the movie from the moment he opens his mouth." Hathaway's role was derided as "less of a character and more of a fast-walking, speed-talking collection of gender grievances."
Director
Quentin Tarantino viewed the film as
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
-worthy, stating "It does seem to be to some degree there’s a boom or bust aspect when it comes to Hollywood when it comes to female directors. There becomes an era when there’s a lot working then that settles down and there’s a dry period—but frankly, maybe I’m just talking shit because the thing is there are female directors. Maybe they’re not being the ones that are being asked to be on ''
The Hollywood Reporter'' roundtable. One of my favorite movies this last year was Nancy Meyers' ''The Intern''. They're not considering that for the Oscars even though I think Robert De Niro gave one of the best performances this year in that movie. I thought the script was actually one of her best. Right up there with ''
It's Complicated''. They're not asking her to be part of the discussion". Clem Bastow, writing for ''
The Guardian'', suggested that poor reviews for the film were primarily coming from men, who form the overwhelming majority of film critics. Bastow further suggested that female critics would "feel the need to go hard on certain films for women" such as ''The Intern''.
Accolades
Remake
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actress
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone ( or ; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most p ...
announced on January 27, 2020, that she will produce the
Hindi remake of ''The Intern'', also playing the female lead role, but the remake's production was postponed mainly due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films. He was the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards and a National Film Award.
Born into th ...
was initially cast as the male lead, but after his sudden death in April 2020 due to
leukemia, he was replaced by
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most success ...
in March 2021. Principal photography began in November 2021. It is set to be released in the summer of 2022.
On July 5, 2022, the first episode of the Japanese television remake of ''The Intern'', called ''Unicorn ni Notte'' or ''Riding a Unicorn'' released its first episode with
Hidetoshi Nishijima as the De Niro role.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Intern, The (2015 film)
2015 films
2015 comedy films
2010s buddy comedy-drama films
2010s business films
2010s English-language films
Adultery in films
American buddy comedy-drama films
American business films
Dune Entertainment films
Films about businesspeople
Films about families
Films about old age
Films directed by Nancy Meyers
Films scored by Theodore Shapiro
Films set in Brooklyn
Films set in offices
Films set in San Francisco
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by Nancy Meyers
Tai chi films
Warner Bros. films
Workplace comedy films
2010s American films