MOVIE REVIEW: The Internship (2013)

The Internship is the type of film you throw on when you're feeling lazy. It's marketed as a very accessible movie, and indeed it is. But does it have any substance? Any real humor? Any innovation? The answer to those 3 questions is no, I'm afraid to say.

The film stars two of Hollywood's most friendly faces, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Yet to this day I can't recall a single film starring either of them that blew me away. The closest is probably Wilson in Woody Allen's 'Midnight in Paris', which was good but not awe-inspiring. Vaughn I am simply not a fan of. He has dragged a cheap laugh out of me here and there but nothing more. This film sees them stick very much to their comfort zones, throwing around cheap gags and acting as you would imagine them to act in real life.

The film's premise is simple but not completely without merit. Two struggling salesmen, Billy and Nick, ditch their jobs to try their luck at an unpaid internship at Google. The comedy is supposed to be based in the fact they are outsiders; 2 middle aged average Joe's in competition with a multitude of young genius computer geeks. The film tells the story of how they overcome various hurdles with their team of social misfits to compete for and ultimately win a full-time place at the company.

We have the familiar characters involved; the team of outsiders who stick together, the love interest, the obnoxious bully, the cold-hearted boss, and all the rest. The story is predictable from the get go and the dialogue is almost unbearably boring throughout, especially when they attempt to be even slightly deep. The only saving graces as far as the characters go are occasional funny one-liners and a few comical situations they find themselves in. For example when they first enter Google headquarters and find out all food and drink is free, prompting Vaughn to order 8 bagels. The romantic contingent of this film is the worst part, in fact it's simply insulting. Clichéd beyond belief, lacking in chemistry and cringe-worthy dialogue. It should have been left out altogether. To be honest, I could pick this film apart in much more depth, but I can't be bothered. There isn't much to say apart from state that it is spectacularly mediocre.

My main issue with The Internship is the fact it is a glorified advert for Google. The whole aesthetic, the colours, the offices, all scream 'everybody should want to work for Google, it's the best place in the world.' But in reality, I think it actually tarnishes Google's image. The producers made Google look like a playpen for juvenile kids who have a few more brain cells than the rest of us. Now, this might be how Google is in real life, but I hate how the film asks us to be impressed by slides instead of stairs, nap pods, free food and colourful beanbags. No doubt, some will find it quirky and innovative, but to me it just came off as kind of... pathetic? I get the fact it's supposed to be a company on the cutting edge of technical innovation, and I'm sure its great to work there. But the aesthetic was significantly overhyped in my opinion, and it just translated as a failed promo for Google to me.

This movie is the definition of average. I can see it being a reasonably good family film, or as aforementioned, one for a lazy evening. But having said that, there are much better films out there that fit both of those scenarios much more aptly.

Acting: 35
Narrative: 50
Visuals: 20
Music: 40

Overall: 36/100