The Internship ***
If the idea of indulging one of the corporate giants accused of alleged ‘tax dodging’ seems abhorrent, then Date Night director Shawn Levy’s ode to Google and its Internet domination in the form of comedy The Internship may be a little too much to swallow.
More so, trying to get past the colourful vision of corporate utopia that is Google in this film, enough to enjoy the comic reunion of Wedding Crashers, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson may also be this film’s downfall before the first Flashdance pun is peddled. Nonetheless, there is more to enjoy than first meets the eye, however formulaic the underdog theme might be.
Billy (Vaughn) and Nick (Owen) are two middle-aged salesmen who were very successful at the height of their game but have since been closed down by the digital age. When an opportunity to join Google as an intern, which could lead to employment arises, the pair decide to go for broke, regardless of how un-tech-savvy they are.
Vaughn and Owen, individually, never seemed to reach the comic banter heights that they do in their Wedding Crashers days – some might argue one runs off at the mouth and the other is too saccharin in recent comedies. However, you can’t deny that together them have great screen chemistry because of their differing personalities, and it’s pleasing to see them back on near form in this.
In fact, their dinosaur wit is well positioned in The Internship because it challenges the effect of the accelerated advancement of technology on interpersonal relationships. Never mocking – and always playing the ‘good-hearted fools’, through them, we reflect on our bizarre and utter reliance on gadgetry that could be argued to hindering communication in recent decades? The 80s references fuel the nostalgic feel for a certain age group watching, but seemed to be lost on a younger audience, possibly also due to Vaughn’s accelerated delivery that does come across as excitable babble sometimes.
At the same time, Levy’s film accessibly addresses the differences in the generations and ways of thinking in blatantly obvious style, peddling some geek stereotypes and obnoxious know-it-alls. Granted, a lot of it is clichéd and borrows from other underdog films (getting drunk frees inhibitions and leads to a moment of genius, for example). Nevertheless, it’s a film that affectionately shows that there’s ‘life in the old dog’ worth listening to yet and has a genuine unifying feeling to it that will make you go away relatively happy.
3/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
