Rated
PG-13 (Sexuality, Some Crude Humor, Partying and Language)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 59 Minutes
Cast-
Vince
Vaughn-Billy McMahon
Owen
Wilson-Nick Campbell
Rose
Byrne-Dana
Aasif
Mandvi-Mr. Chetty
Josh
Brener-Lyle
Dylan
O'Brien-Stuart
Tiya
Sircar-Neha
Tobit
Raphael-Yo-Yo Santos
Max
Minghella-Graham Hawtrey
Jessica
Szohr-Marielena
Joanna
Garcia Swisher-Megan
Rob
Riggle-Randy
Gary
Anthony Williams-Bob Williams
John
Goodman-Sam
Will
Ferrell-Kevin
Directed
by Shawn Levy
 |
| Look at that blatant advertising! |
Note: Screened on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13.
Google.
Every time I open my web browser (Mozilla Firefox for the win!), I am greeted by
its primary-colored logo and that long, white rectangular box where a blinking
cursor quietly awaits for me to type…something. It's hard to believe that Google
didn't even exist seventeen years ago, so if a student needed to write a research
paper, he or she would have to hit up the good 'ol encyclopedia. Yes, those massive
tomes of knowledge that now sits at your local library collecting dust. Nowadays,
the way we access information has completely changed; it is literally right at
our fingertips thanks to the advent of smartphones. Growing beyond its simple
search engine roots, the Google of today encompasses e-mail, social networking,
productivity tools, mobile phones, and now it's the subject of a major motion picture.
Shawn Levy's "The Internship" reunites Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
eight years after "Wedding Crashers," the well-received R-rated comedy
that became a surprise box office success, grossing $285 million on a modest $40
million production budget. Vaughn followed that film with a string of hits
("The Break-Up," "Four Christmases," and "Couples Retreat")
but things were a bit tougher on Wilson, although he did earn critical acclaim
for his role on Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris." Unfortunately, both
actors have been experiencing a dry spell in the last two years, with "The
Dilemma," "The Watch," "Hall Pass," and "The Big
Year" all tanking. The comedy landscape certainly has changed in the last
eight years; just look at the poster for "This is the End" for proof.
Trading R-rated raunchiness for PG-13 formula, "The Internship" manages
to coast by on the genial charisma of its two leads but fails to deliver much
in the way of laughs…or surprises.
Veteran
watch salesmen Billy McMahon (Vince Vaughn) and Nick Campbell (Owen Wilson) find
themselves out of a job when their boss Sam (John Goodman) announces that his
company is shutting down due to being made obsolete by smartphones. To pay the bills,
Nick accepts a job selling mattresses from his sister's lecherous boyfriend Kevin
(Will Ferrell) while Billy's world is turned upside down, with his house facing
foreclosure and his girlfriend (Joanna Garcia Swisher) leaving him. As he searches
for a new job, Billy gets a crazy idea and enrolls himself and his friend for
online college courses in order to qualify for a summer internship at Google. Nick
is at first reluctant but Billy's enthusiasm soon convinces him to take a leap
of faith. Arriving at Google's headquarters in San Francisco, Billy and Nick are
quickly overwhelmed by this technological wonderland as they vie for a limited
number of coveted positions against a sea of tech-savvy twenty-somethings. Nick
also becomes enamored with a high-powered Google executive named Dana (Rose
Byrne). The head of the internship program, Mr. Chetty (Aasif Mandvi), breaks up
all the interns into small groups and reveals that the team who wins the most
challenges will be offered permanent positions at Google. Billy and Nick are joined
with a nerdy band of misfits that includes the ever-cynical Stuart (Dylan
O'Brien), the sex-obsessed Neha (Tiya Sircar), home-schooled Yo-Yo Santos (Tobit
Raphael), and their cheerful team leader Lyle (Josh Brener). Directly competing
with the mean-spirited Graham Hawtrey (Max Minghella), Billy and Nick discover
that they're out of their depth but they soldier on as they try to prove that a
couple of analog dinosaurs like themselves can still be relevant in a digital
world.
Thoroughly
mediocre, "The Internship" nonetheless exhibits a pleasant enough charm
but don't expect much in the way of laughs or originality. Written by Vince Vaughn
himself (with an assist from Jared Stern), the Shawn Levy-directed feature is
inoffensive to a fault and desperate to please. A scene where the characters
relate to each other with their shared struggle for employment is quickly swept
under the rug lest the tone get too dour. Equal parts buddy comedy, a fish-out-of-water
tale, and an underdog story, the film is just one cliché after another and is completely
formulaic, making for a rather bland viewing experience. Many of the jokes poke
fun at Billy and Nick's inexperience with those 'newfangled compooters,' such as
missaying 'online' as 'on the line' and how out-of-touch they are with modern pop
culture. In an attempt to come off as 'geeky,' a number of references to "Harry
Potter" (there's a game of Quidditch), "X-Men," "Game of
Thrones," "Star Wars," cosplay, and even hentai are haphazardly
thrown in but none of it is particularly clever nor funny. The only time where
the film manages to earn a few chuckles is when Billy and Nick take the team
out to a strip club, where Yo-Yo (who makes these names up?!) repeatedly ejaculates
in his pants during lap dances. Unfortunately, even this scene is problematic due
to the sloppy editing in order to preserve the PG-13 rating.
The
characters themselves are little more than stereotypes. Lyle is supposed to be awkward
and endearing but instead comes off as unbearably annoying in his desperate attempts
to sound 'cool.' Stuart is the typical introverted hipster who thinks he's above
'everything' while Neha, to quote fellow critic James Berardinelli, is 'every geek's
dream girl; I'm not sure someone like her really exists.' Finally, there's
Yo-Yo and thanks to people like Amy Chua, Hollywood continues to cling to the
tired belief that every Asian child grows up in an authoritarian household. Making
matters worse is the story's staleness and its rote adherence to formula. There
is no drama or tension to be found because the team's eventual victory is never
in any doubt, even when it tries otherwise. You know they'll win and you know
that Nick will get the girl. This is not even a spoiler! Of course, Billy and Nick
impart some life lessons to their young cohorts, instilling them with confidence
with a gaggle of "Flashdance" references. These moments are admittedly
charming and it's hard to completely hate "The Internship" when it's
so earnestly optimistic despite the lazy screenplay. A major point of
contention among critics has been Google's prominence in the film, with many accusing
it of being a glorified two-hour commercial for the corporation. I actually disagree
on this area as I found the use of Google's headquarters as the main setting to
be rather clever and grounded the story with the real-world. Yes, it's treated
as some technological Shangri-La but the only real disappointment is Vaughn and
Stern's failure to fully capitalize on their unique location.
Vince
Vaughn and Owen Wilson almost single-handedly save the film, the keyword being
'almost.' The weak material handicaps them and they're typecast into their
roles but the two continue to make for a fun and charismatic duo, with Vaughn's
loud-mouthed, fast-talking persona complementing Wilson's laid back, aw-shucks demeanor.
The younger cast members, which includes Josh Brener, Dylan O'Brien, Tiya
Sircar, Tobit Raphael, and Max Minghella, don't fare as well and are trapped in
one-note, thinly-written roles. The beautiful Rose Byrne is fine as the token
love interest while Aasif Mandvi plays one of the few consistently amusing
characters (the other being Josh Gad). His continued doubt with Billy and Nick's
abilities manages to muster up a couple of laughs.
Released
on June 7, 2013, "The Internship" has received largely negative
reviews with 32% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found the film to be weighed down
by its 'formulaic script and padded running time that leans heavily on its
stars' easygoing interplay.' Curiously, the reaction at Thursday's advance
screening was the complete opposite. While I was sitting there stone-faced,
almost everyone around me was laughing their butts off. It honestly left me
puzzled. 20th Century Fox has been screening the film quite aggressively but
it's unlikely to be a box office hit. Early estimates are pegging it for a
low-$20 million weekend debut, which exceeds initial studio expectations. The
film is harmless fluff but it doesn't change the fact that "The
Internship" is a mediocre, bland, and tepid comedy bereft of laughs.
You're better off skipping it and waiting for "Man of Steel."
Final
Rating: 2 out of 5
"We're
looking at some sort of mental Hunger Games against a bunch of genius kids for
just like a handful of jobs."
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