The Intern (2015)

What makes The Intern special is how it turns a simple workplace comedy into a quietly restorative hangout with two terrific actors who actually listen to each other on screen. Nancy Meyers gives the Brooklyn startup bustle a warm, polished glow, then lets Robert De Niro’s unshowy grace and Anne Hathaway’s tightly-wound charisma play off each other until the movie feels like a deep breath you didn’t know you needed. It’s funny in an easy, human way—more smiles than punchlines—and unexpectedly tender about ambition, aging, and the small courtesies that keep us afloat. If you’re craving sharper satire or bigger laughs it may feel gentle to a fault, but if you want something charming, comforting, and genuinely likable, this one earns your time.

The Intern is clearly aiming to be a warm, intergenerational comfort-comedy about purpose, modern work, and a mentor-mentee friendship, and in that lane it’s sincere. The problem is it often plays like a very expensive pep talk: the premise is great, but the story stays soft, the conflicts are smoothed over, and a lot of scenes drift into tidy speeches instead of sharp comedy or real tension. If you want bite, messy stakes, or anything that seriously challenges its characters, this will likely feel bland and a bit hollow. If you’re in the mood for a gentle, likable watch with charming performances (De Niro’s easy warmth does a lot of heavy lifting) and Nancy Meyers’ cozy polish, it can still be an easy evening.