The Internship (2013)

For such a charismatic, usually funny guy, Vince Vaughn has had a heck of a time trying to stay relevant the past few years. He’s been working for a while, but since he hit his peak around 2005 with the comedy Wedding Crashers it’s just been a slow ride down the hill. It’s arguable that not a single comedy he’s made since The Break-Up has been a success. In many ways, his new film The Internship seems like a rather desperate attempt to recapture his relative glory days. It teams him with his Wedding Crashers co-star Owen Wilson, and the main conflict revolves around how weird it is that kids these days seem to be on computers while older dudes still sell watches and don’t know how to say “online.” It’s also directed by Shawn Levy, the man Hollywood calls whenever they need a mediocre, blatantly commercial comedy rushed out to theaters.

And commercial this movie is. Quite. The Internship takes place almost entirely on the Google campus, and you’d be hard pressed to find a more flatteringly shot locale. You get the feeling that if anyone ever saw a cloud in the sky, they decided to hold off shooting until the next day as it might make the location look bad. When the film isn’t an ode to the awesomeness of Google and all its glory, The Internship is an indifferently-made comedy which spends most of its time just burning through the obvious jokes and plot points until it reaches the end. Most everyone in it is charming, but rarely is that able to rub off on the whole experience. Mediocrity abounds.

Vaughn and Wilson play Billy and Nick, respectively. They are two old-school watch salesmen who are surprised to learn that their company has closed and they are suddenly without jobs. In a fit of desperation, Billy discovers an internship at Google that he decides to take a chance on. Through some incredibly contrived developments, the two of them wind up in California competing with a bunch of college whiz kids for a shot at full-time Google employment. In this competition, they are assigned to a group consisting of characters played by Dylan O’Brien, Tiya Sircar, Tobit Raphael and team leader Josh Brener. A rivalry also starts to grow between their group and a super group led by The Social Network’s Max Minghella.

It’s hard not to like the cast of this movie. Vaughn is really into it, but that’s to be expected since he also wrote and produced this thing. That’s a bit discouraging on the career front, but you can’t accuse the man of giving it anything less than his all. Slightly less impactful is the work of Wilson, who at best seems like he’s doing his buddy a favor and at worst seems like he’s being held against his will. Even so, the two of them have an undeniable chemistry that comes through early and often in their scenes together. I was also really impressed with the young cast around them, and I sincerely hope they all go on to bigger and better things. Even with all the younger actors in this movie, everyone seems very sure of themselves and is able to get a few laughs despite the DOA script. In fact, the cast is so good that it only makes the movie they’re in all the more depressing.

In fact, the actual content of this movie is almost impossible to differentiate from the stuff that’s basically a Google advertisement. Everything about this movie, right down to the end credits, is meant to depict the company as a colorful wonderland filled with attractive young people who just hang out and make the world a better place in casual clothing. Almost every segment seems specifically designed to showcase an appealing service or aspect of the Google world. It’s kind of sickening, and at the very least it’s way too calculated. I have no doubt that Vaughn and company set out to make a good movie above all; I’m not one of those people that thinks people intentionally make crap. But this is a case of a location or corporation completely overtaking the artistic side of the equation. Most audiences won’t completely notice, but those that do will probably sour on the film as a whole very quickly.

As much as I may dislike it, there’s little doubt in my mind that anyone who intentionally pays to see The Internship will probably like The Internship. My crowd certainly seemed to eat it up, and it’s a movie specifically designed to please the broadest possible audience. Not that it’s completely lacking in legitimate laughs, but they are almost universally the result of the performers selling it rather than the movie willing them into existence. The complete lack of real energy can be credited both to the actual material and the direction of Levy, who is not a bad director so much as he’s a guy who really doesn’t bring anything intriguing to the table. You give him a project, and he will put it on the screen without completely screwing it up. Unfortunately, he will also make the easier choice nine times out of ten. The Internship is the result of a bunch of talented people getting together and making the most pedestrian project possible.

Grade: C