The Intern (2015)

Movie · 2015 · Comedy · 2h 1m · PG-13 · English

Curator score: 3.3/10 (821.9K ratings)

Experience never gets old.

Overview

70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.

Ratings

Director

Nancy Meyers

Production

RatPac Entertainment, Waverly Films, Warner Bros. Pictures

Cast

Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Rene Russo, Anders Holm, JoJo Kushner, Andrew Rannells, Adam Devine, Zack Pearlman, Jason Orley, Christina Scherer, Nat Wolff, Linda Lavin, Celia Weston, Steve Vinovich, C.J. Wilson, Mary Kay Place, Erin Mackey, Christina Brucato, Wallis Currie-Wood, Molly Bernard

Where to watch

Hulu

Curator Review

Verdict

A gentle, polished crowd-pleaser with strong chemistry and an easy, comforting rhythm, but it leans heavily on familiar workplace-comedy and rom-com beats. It works best as a warm hangout movie about grief, purpose, and unlikely friendship rather than as a sharp satire or truly surprising drama.

Best for

  • viewers who like comfort-watch comedies with heart
  • fans of intergenerational friendship stories
  • people in the mood for a polished, low-stakes ensemble film
  • audiences who enjoy Nancy Meyers-style domestic/workplace warmth

Skip if

  • you want a fresh or unpredictable screenplay
  • you dislike sentimental, glossy comedy-drama
  • you need a stronger romantic payoff or sharper workplace satire
  • you are impatient with a long runtime and familiar plot turns

Overview

The Intern is built on an appealing simple premise: a retired widower finds renewed purpose by becoming an intern at a fast-growing fashion startup. The movie’s biggest asset is its tone. It is soft-edged, humane, and quietly funny, with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway giving it enough sincerity to keep the material from feeling purely schematic.

Worth noting

What lingers most is not the office comedy but the emotional texture around work, loneliness, marriage, and competence. The film understands that “having a life” can mean something different at 70 than it does at 30, and it gives both leads room to be vulnerable without turning them into clichés. It is also very much a movie about being useful to someone, and being seen.

Bottom line

At the same time, it is predictable and sometimes too neatly arranged, with a few subplots that feel like padding. If you want a sharper or more subversive take on age, gender, and ambition, this won’t be the one. But if you want a soothing, well-acted, emotionally generous comedy-drama, it delivers exactly that.

Top Letterboxd reviews

chloe 💓 (4★) · 5609 likes

this movies great and all but like she rlly went back to him after he cheated?????? 2018 post-oceans8 anne hathaway would never

demi adejuyigbe · 4974 likes

Robert De Niro gets an erection very early on in the first act and then there are about 100 minutes left after that.

Dan · 4941 likes

I don’t give a fuck I ATE THIS UP I could’ve sat here for four hours just watching Robert De Niro be Anne Hathaway’s best friend

Maria (4★) · 3322 likes

Where can I hire Bobby De Niro to be my emotional support grandpa and fix my life for me? Please and thank you!

sofi✨ (3.5★) · 3040 likes

we need more movies with the romcom vibe but instead it’s just friendship/found family <3

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Topics

workplace comedy, dramedy, feel-good, found family, intergenerational, grief, romantic tension, startup culture, domestic warmth, 2010s

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