It’s a good feeling when a fading legend proves that he still has something left to give. Robert De Niro (Cape Fear, Taxi Driver) is one of the most accomplished and legendary actors of all time, having earned seven Academy Award nominations for acting, including two wins (The Godfather: Part II, Raging Bull). He has proved that he can be successful across many genres, including drama (The Deer Hunter, Cop Land), comedy (Analyze This, Wag the Dog), action/adventure (Midnight Run, Ronin), and mystery/suspense (Heat, Sleepers), to name a few. He can play some of the most likable characters we’ve ever seen (Leonard Lowe in Awakenings, Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents) as well as some of the most reprehensible, violent, and hostile characters who we will never forget (Max Cady in Cape Fear, Ace Rothstein in Casino, Al Capone in The Untouchables and many, many more).

Unfortunately, he has become (what my friend Tim affectionately refers to) a movie whore in recent years. One can hardly fault him for his work ethic and desire to earn a paycheck, but most of us would be amazed to know that De Niro has made over 20 films since 2010’s Little Fockers. Only two of these films (Silver Linings Playbook for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Limitless were the only two that earned more than 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. While he was excellent in each of these two films (and pretty terrible in the other 18), Nancy Meyers’ (It’s Complicated, Something’s Gotta Give) The Intern reminds us just how endearing and versatile De Niro can still be. He is a part of cinematic history that people will talk about in 50 years, as we talk about James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, and Clark Gable today. Perhaps De Niro will be even more revered because today’s cinema has allowed its actors to portray characters with fewer restrictions.

De Niro plays his most likable character in years as Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old retired widower who, like many retired people, tries to fill his time with meaningful diversions. He’s tried almost everything, but there are too many hours in the day. So he responds to a flyer from About the Fit, an online clothing company seeking senior citizens to be interns as part of a new initiative. Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables, Interstellar) is the founder of About the Fit and doesn’t recall anything about the program, even though she agrees. She is a bit of a go-getter, taking her company from just a few employees to 220 in only 18 months. But all of her successes come at a price. She has to ride her bike around her company’s warehouse because she has meetings stacked on each other. Her employees like her, yet they don’t truly know her. She is too busy for them, and she has a lot of demands. At home, her husband Matt (Anders Holm – Top Five, Inherent Vice) has given up a successful career to raise their kindergarten-aged daughter Paige.

To add credibility to the senior citizen intern program, Jules must recruit an intern. She must lead by example and reluctantly agrees to take on Ben for six weeks. He’ll continue to wait for emails on his laptop while learning the business. Jules doesn’t take an initial interest in him, while his co-workers call him Mr. Congeniality. His co-workers include fellow intern Davis (Zack Pearlman), who is younger than him. He is an actual intern versus a senior intern. Also included in his crew are Jason (Adam DeVine – most recognizable as Andy from Modern Family as well as Bumper in the Pitch Perfect movies), Cameron (Andrew Rannells – television’s Girls), the overseer of the program, and Becky (Christina Scherer), Jules’ assistant. Fiona (Rene Russo – Nightcrawler, Outbreak) is also in the mix.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the plot. You don’t even need a preview. Jules slowly wins her over with his old-school ways despite her initial resistance. Finally, she sees him making a difference around the office. This is De Niro’s most sincere and likable character in years (if not ever). He’s perfect as his characters in Silver Linings Playbook and Joy. He shares screen time equally with Hathaway, but the real reward is when they share the screen. Ben shows the ultimate respect for Jules. He admires what he does, and while there are some tips that he could offer with his years of experience in marketing, sales, and the overall production of phone books.

At some point, the movie shifts from being a straight-up fun comedy (maybe a much less raunchy The Internship) to something that has a bit more substance. I don’t mind a comedy with sentimental value, but I don’t necessarily like it when there is a change in tone. And there certainly was one here. This was probably to be expected, given that Myers directed the movie. Some of her previous directorial efforts followed a similar format. Whether it be The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give, What a Woman Wants, or The Parent Trap, there is always that element of nostalgia where the film needs to be wrapped up in a nice little ball. In this case, About the Fit wants Jules to bring a CEO to the company. Jules has gotten the company to where it is, but everyone knows that she needs to take a step back to get more of a balance in her life. Reluctantly, she agrees to entertain the idea and goes to various businesses (unsure why they don’t come to her) to interview potential candidates. Through a series of events, Jules and Ben are brought closer together. He begins to take on more and more duties, both professionally and on a friendship level. The respect he offered her from the moment they met is finally reciprocated.

This film was underappreciated, having a slightly better score on Rotten Tomatoes (though 76% of audiences liked it). However, the $76 million at the box office was very good. If you like Myers’ movies, there’s no reason to think you won’t like them. De Niro fans should see it. I say this is your loss. He can play a bad guy and anyone, but he can also play a very likable character. His performance in The Intern will remind you of your grandfather, even if he’s not with us.

Plot 9/10 (pretty original, though I appreciated the light-hearted approach of the first half versus the sentimentality of the second half more)
Character Development 9/10 (these characters do grow…always harder to establish in a comedy than a drama)
Character Chemistry 9/10 (De Niro and Hathaway have great chemistry together)
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 8/10 (going back to the plot again…the first half felt like a slightly different movie than the second half…the same characters… the same story…just a different sense in tone)
Directing  8.5/10
Cinematography 7/10
Sound 7.5/10
Hook and Reel 10/10 (De Niro wins you over from the first scene…he feels like your favorite grandfather)
Universal Relevance 10/10
87%

B+

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