The Intern

The Intern (2015)

Written and Directed by: Nancy Mayers
Starring: Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway

Streaming on Netflix.

The film is a buddy comedy. It has a simple premise - a 70-year-old man starts over as an intern. The 70-year-old is played by Robert De Niro, and it's fun to watch an actor known for playing masculine macho characters, playing an underdog. There is a beautiful friendship that forms between the intern and the CEO of the company, who he works for. There's an interesting element that they explore - the idea of a man. Masculinity. They associate masculinity to doing the right things and saying the right things, which is an interesting way to look at it. Ben embodies that idea of masculinity. He dresses up no matter how small the work is. He says the right things. He knows when to talk and when to shut up. It's such an inspiring character. After watching Ben be at work like that, I want to be like him where I'm barely fucking up. 

Whereas Anne Hathaway's character is relatable to us because of the vulnerability. The way she is trying so hard to hold things together, but is constantly struggling. I wasn't a big fan of the way they were emasculating the husband's character, and it made sense when they explored that he's probably cheating on her. My point was that, he can still be a masculine man and stay at home. This is what I find a bit troubling. It's like women want to get back at years of patriarchal writing, by writing one dimensional shitty partners to women protagonists. I mean, why do the same mistake? I wish that their friendship was threatened a bit more, perhaps where Ben is conflicted between the right thing to do vs working for his boss. Because at the core, the unique point of this film is that it explores an unusual relationship - which was pretty smooth throughout the film.