The Intern 2015

Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press: In keeping everything so polite, The Intern, while being a pleasant and watchable movie, is also entirely ephemeral. Maybe that's why, like Meyers' other films, The Intern will likely be so re-watchable, too. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: With some genuinely insightful dialogue, a number of truly funny bits of physical business, and small scenes allowing us to get know and like a half-dozen supporting players, The Intern grows on us from scene to scene, from moment to moment. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: There's not much here story-wise. But when Meyers wants to write an involving scene with characters thinking and feeling the way humans think and feel, you want to applaud. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Meyers' films have always been about basically decent people navigating life's various hurdles. Here, though, her characters have gone from "It's Complicated" to "It's Pretty Straightforward, Actually." Read more

Guy Lodge, Variety: It takes all the leads' considerable combined charm to forestall the aftertaste of the pic's smug life lessons and near-comically blinkered worldview. Read more

Jesse Hassenger, AV Club: This kind of unhurried, low-conflict story coming from a mainstream filmmaker might be more invigorating if not for the eventually wearying idealization of the De Niro character and the odd implications that come along with it. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: "The Intern" is idiotic, unrealistic, Boomer wish fulfillment that has no business working on any level. I quite enjoyed it. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "The Intern" is bizarrely retrograde, implying that every working woman only needs a cuddly Yoda daddy to make it in the world of business. It's soft in the heart - and soft in the head. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: There are a few good laughs, but they struggle to survive amid the syrupy score, overlit interiors, and smothering sense of middle-class entitlement. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Meyers has wit and a solid sense of craft, but mainly she makes movies about high thread counts and comfy, pricey throw pillows. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "The Intern" may be predictable, but it's far from empty. Read more

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: The tone remains as plush and soft-cornered as one of Meyers' ubiquitous throw pillows (though it's also knowing enough to toss off a good joke about them). Read more

Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: The movie offers more frustrations than rewards to discerning viewers of any age or gender. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: A better, funnier and more considered movie than much of what passes for nonfranchise studio filmmaking, even as it shows a world almost exclusively white, straight and upmarket. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: De Niro and Hathaway's charms plus a sparkling script make for feel-good fluff. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: This earnest, effusive haut-bourgeois fantasy, by the writer and director Nancy Meyers, runs roughshod over rational skepticism with the force of her life experience. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "The Intern" is like one of those candies you put in your mouth that starts off tasting sweet - until it suddenly turns lip-puckering sour. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Mr. De Niro owns the movie from the moment he opens his mouth, and is staring into the camera and right at you. (Oh, yes, he's lookin' at you.) You can't look away, and soon you don't want to. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: There'd be a lot less strife and starvation, disease and dread, if Nancy Meyers ruled the world. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: In terms of comedic and dramatic content, The Intern is hit-and-miss. Notions about ageism and corporate prejudice against female CEOs are grazed but not explored in a meaningful or compelling way. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: It's not much of a movie. But raging bull Robert De Niro, suited up to play for humor and heart, proves he can be a world-class charmer. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Slight but charming, Nancy Meyers' "The Intern" almost goes terribly wrong in its first minutes, but quickly rights itself. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The success of this film may ride entirely on the alchemy of these particular actors, but whatever is carrying it, "The Intern" gets there. Read more

L.V. Anderson, Slate: Nobody does visually pleasing, occasionally funny escapist entertainment about goodhearted rich people trying their best to do the right thing better than Nancy Meyers. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: It spoon-feeds us vanilla fiction to the point of overdose. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: These days, it's tough to find a comedy that even aspires to sophistication. "The Intern" entertainingly fills that slot. Read more

David Sims, The Atlantic: Thanks largely to performances by De Niro and Hathaway, The Intern is a gentle, enjoyable fantasy-and certainly Meyers's best film in more than a decade. Read more

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail: A movie that doesn't do justice to an invigorating premise. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: If only real life were like a Nancy Meyers movie. Read more

James Rocchi, TheWrap: Considering the movie's fortune-cookie-style "insights" that old and young have much to learn from each other, it's only appropriate that De Niro and Hathaway's charms, and those alone, comprise the saving graces of "The Intern." Read more

Cath Clarke, Time Out: The movie's ideas run out quickly, but De Niro is easygoing, and The Intern is indulgent good fun. Just don't go in expecting nutrition. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: Only the impressive chemistry between Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway will keep you watching; we haven't even mentioned the painfully ageist sex jokes or the silly plot developments that unfold like sitcom padding. Read more

Brian Truitt, USA Today: The story isn't even contrived, it's ridiculous. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: The spongy subtext of this and every Meyers movie is "We're being serious, but we're also being FUN!" No viewer must ever be made to think too much, feel too much, or be left out. She doesn't so much tell a story as lead a team-building exercise. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: The Intern degenerates into a series of monologues about ambition and relationships and having it all. As the speeches pile up, our goodwill dissipates, and so does the film's magic. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: "The Intern" feels a little bit like the tai chi exercises that Ben does in the park throughout the film - you look for something to react to and laugh at and maybe even shed a tear about, but you wind up pushing against a puff of air. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: This clumsy comedy, written and directed by Nancy Meyers, turns an implausible but intriguing premise into a tale of generational collision that reflects dimly on old and young alike. Read more