The generally affable comedy “The Intern” (Warner Bros.) could have provided families with a pleasant, though not especially memorable, visit to the multiplex, but the needless inclusion of some adults-only humor raises concerns about this project’s acceptability even for older teens.
Feeling bored and isolated by retirement, 70-year-old retiree Ben Whittaker enrolls in an internship program for senior citizens with online clothing retailer About the Fit. Assigned to assist the firm’s founder and CEO, Jules Ostin, Ben quickly discovers that his new boss regards his presence as a nuisance.
That changes when Ben spots Jules’ driver drinking on the job and discreetly volunteers to take his place at the wheel. As this improvised arrangement becomes permanent, Ben proves his professional worth to Jules.
Widowed Ben also experiences the stirrings of romance with the office’s in-house masseuse, Fiona (Rene Russo). However, their first encounter degenerates into a potentially embarrassing occasion for Ben that also marks one of the movie’s infrequent but bothersome detours into tastelessness.
In between such regrettable interludes, Meyers showcases the synergy between the creative innovation of the young and the experience-based prudence of their elders, though the means she employs to do so sometimes ring false.
A subplot involving the strained relationship between Jules and her husband, stay-at-home dad Matt, is resolved in a way that affirms commitment and fidelity. Yet the dialogue, follows a twisting path before reaching this positive outcome. Though less substantial, Ben’s brief but upbeat memories of his own long-lasting match serve to reinforce the overall pro-marriage message.
The film contains a premarital situation, a non-graphic bedroom scene between spouses, intermittent sexual humor, a few rough terms, occasional crass language and an obscene gesture. (A-III, PG-13).
