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October 4, 2015

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Hathaway is magnetic in ‘The Intern’

THE world of Nancy Meyers sure is beautiful.

But her studied production design and dreamy interiors have become such a focal point, that they’ve almost eclipsed her storytelling. It marginalizes what she does, and how she has, from “The Parent Trap” to “It’s Complicated,” created her own lovely and implausible cottage industry of movies that are, for the most part, exceedingly pleasant to watch.

She tells stories about divorce, affairs, and later life loves, using wit and humor that is somehow blue and sassy, but also innocent. Meyers is one of the more retro writer-directors working today.

“The Intern,” her first film in 6 years, is a curious case, melding together those modern retro sensibilities in a way that even further distances her work from reality. This is not a love story, though. It’s a workplace tale about a smiley, unflappable 70-year-old retiree Ben (Robert De Niro) who goes to intern for the 30-something CEO of an online retail startup.

With only the most polite issues peppering the plot, it’s less a study of generational conflict and more of a series of loosely connected events about a guardian angel sent out of retirement to tell Anne Hathaway that she really can have it all.

Ben’s adjustment to working with all these kids might be the hook, but Jules Ostin (Hathaway) is the centerpiece and heart of the movie. In the past year and a half, she has built an insanely successful clothing business from the ground up and is now juggling a kid, her relationship with her stay-at-home husband, and a board of directors who want to replace her with a more seasoned CEO.

She has her quirks, but Jules is neither the prototypical cutesy, clumsy comedy heroine nor the passionless executive who just needs to loosen up. In fact, Jules isn’t a type at all. Hathaway plays her as serious, wise, playful, and insecure. Every time you think she might descend into caricature, Hathaway pulls back and grounds Jules. In keeping everything so polite, “The Intern,” while being a pleasant and watchable movie, is also ephemeral. Maybe that’s why, it will likely be so re-watchable, too.




 

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