The Internship

This movie was exactly what I expected, and that is in no way a bad thing. The Internship is a comedy that really does bridge a generation gap between the main characters and the supporting actors.  I saw this because I was a fan of the dynamic between Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in their film ‘Wedding Crashers’, and this movie delivers the same feel.

The Internship is a comedy following Billy (Vaughn) and Nick (Wilson), two  forty-something watch salesmen who find themselves in search for a career in a job market they don’t fully comprehend.  They decide to find a way into the Google Internship program, where they and a group of young tech wizards have to compete with other teams vying for the coveted employment at Google.

The look and feel of this movie is very bright, and intensely colorful, and this was not only decisions made by the DP (Director of Photography) Jonathan Brown, but also just the presence and the environment of Google Corp. While there are a few shots that are beautiful, this movie is not the type that is going to have complex camera work or cutting edge effects, this movie is driven by a comedic plot based in the real world, so the writing and acting is what takes import.

The writing does a good job too. Jokes were funny and definitely well spaced. My only complaint with this movie, would be my complaint of any movie like this (‘This’ being the underdogs vs. the alpha dogs). A couple of plot points can be seen a mile away, waving road flares. That’s a risk that has to be made though, because I truly believe writing a good comedy (let alone a great one) becomes exponentially harder as time passes, because no one likes hearing a joke repeated, we like new comedy. That being said and keeping that in mind, the story was pretty good.

The acting is what makes the movie work best. Vaughn and Wilson have great delivery, and the whole team involved with them (Josh Brener, Dylan O’Brian, Tiya Sircar, and Tobit Raphael) have a great on screen group chemistry. My favorite performances however are with John Goodman and Josh Gad, who while only on screen for a combined total of less than 7 minutes, have great delivery of their characters.

One important side note for me, and this is one of my biggest beefs with comedy movies, is the trailers. So often you will see a trailer for a comedy, and a two minute trailer feels obligated to sling a barrage of the movies punch-lines, which really spoils the enjoyment of the joke when it happens in the movie, especially if it is one of the bigger deliveries in the movie. I am happy to say that the trailers for this movie did leave unexpected punch-lines for the audience to enjoy.

I know this movie has been out a couple weeks, but if you haven’t seen it, you won’t feel cheated out of a matinee ticket. If not, it will be a good movie to rent or add to your Netflix queue.

Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆