The Internship is a weak comedy and the only success it manages is the re-pairing of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson who generally have great chemistry, otherwise the script (co-written by Vaughn) is half-baked and the funny moments, while a few, is too far and between. This is not a bad movie by a long shot and might be worthwhile as a time waster, but it’s also one you can skip and won’t miss.
The Internship (2013)
Genre(s): Comedy
Fox | PG13/Unrated – 119/125 min. – $39.99 | October 22, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Writer(s): Vince Vaughn (story), Vince Vaughn and Jared Stern (screenplay)
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Max Minghella, Aasif Mandvi
Theatrical Release Date: June 7, 2013
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurette, Deleted Scenes, DVD Copy, UltraViolet Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 2.35
Subtitles: English
Disc Size: 39.6 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 2.75/5
Note: This review contains spoilers about the plot.
Vince Vaughn + Owen Wilson + (Rachel McAdams ? Rose Byrne) + (David Dobkin ? Shawn Levy) = The Internship, the matchup of the minds and talents behind the mega-hit comedy hit Wedding Crashers. Unfortunately this mash-up was more miss than hit and doesn’t nearly have the staying power of WC. Yeah, there are funny moments, but its one long schtick that never hits its stride. Oh, and its one not so cloaked advertisement for Google…
Billy McMahon (VINCE VAUGHN) and Nick Campbell (OWEN WILSON) are best friends and apparently fast and smooth talkers, respectively, selling high-end watches. But their world is turned upside down when, during a sales pitch, they discover the company they work for has folded. They learn for themselves from their boss (JOHN GOODMAN) they are now unemployed and going into a new technological world with no real skills to speak of.
While Nick gets a job at his brother-in-law’s (WILL FARRELL) mattress company, while trying to find job openings, Billy gets the idea to apply for an internship with Google and convinces Nick to join in. Being an internship, there is no pay and the competition is intense with only a few spots eventually leading to full-time employment. Despite being far older, the pair somehow convinces the company to accept them, in part with Billy beefing up their technological skills, and applying to the University of Phoenix as interns must be attending college.
Upon their arrival, they not only meet the best and brightest and quickly realize Billy and Nick are out of their element, and things only become more difficult when teams are formed and they are relegated to the leftovers, albeit brainiacs in their own right: Stuart (DYLAN O’BRIEN), Neha (TIYA SIRCAR), Yo-Yo Santos (TOBIT RAPHAEL) and team leader, Lyle (JOSH BRENER). They’re up against it for sure and Billy and Nick knowing nothing about computers, code and the like does not help matters.
And no comedy would be complete without a douche bag/antagonist/villain, this one named Graham (MAX MINGHELLA). I’m certain he won’t get his comeuppance at the end… Ah, we’ve seen this before in numerous other, and oft, funnier films.
One of the problems The Internship has it seems to heavily borrow from other comedies and outside of being a hard-on advertisement for Google, which in itself limits the plot as not to mock the company allowing a production to use their logo and filming on their campus. Don’t get me wrong, I like Google and use it on a daily basis, but this is an ultimate (or one of) in product placement.
But beyond the free advertising for Google and all of its products, the biggest issue going against the movie is the comedy is sporadic and the energy level never finds its groove unlike Wedding Crashers which, despite being the same running time (119 minutes), is more even handed and consistent.
With that said, it is nice to see Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson back together and for the most part the chemistry between the two is still there, though Vaughn’s fast-talking tended to get on my nerves. The supporting cast is also great starting with Josh Brener whose weird mannerisms never grew old and the lovely Tiya Sircar is cute as a button. With regards to Rose Byrne, she has a couple fun scenes with Wilson but her role and performance is mostly wasted and relegated to forced romantic interest.
Honestly, The Internship is not great but as passable entertainment, I can accept it; a fine way to spend two hours but this is not something you’ll want to revisit until it airs non-stop on TBS (“Very Funny”). I didn’t hate it because it did manage to get a couple good laughs out of me, just not enough to make it past a passing grade.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5
The 2-disc set comes in a standard Blu-ray case and with a semi-glossy slip cover. Inside is a DVD/Digital Copy disc (which contains no features and only the theatrical version) for the iTunes version and a slip for the UltraViolet Digital Copy.
Unrated Version (2:05:01; HD) – The unrated version of the film is about six minutes longer and from what I could tell, this version would’ve gotten an R-rating with one scene containing nudity when the team visits the gentlemen’s club.
Audio Commentary – Available only on the theatrical version, Director/Producer Shawn Levy sits down for a relatively straight-forward commentary laying out the idea behind the story and giving some behind-the-scenes bits of trivia.
Deleted Scenes (8:26; HD) includes 8 scenes that were cut or removed. None of them are of great importance and are that funny.
Any Given Monday (17:52; HD) is the only ‘making-of’ featurette and mainly about the Quidditch scene and a parody of those sports documentaries. It’s actually quite extensive for just the one sequence.
Theatrical Trailer (2:26; HD)
Previews – The Wolverine, The Heat, The Way Way Back
VIDEO – 4.5/5
Twentieth Century Fox releases The Internship onto Blu-ray presented in its theatrical 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and in 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture has excellent detail levels, the colors look well balanced from the darker scenes in the beginning to the vibrancy in the Heaven-like place known as Google HQ. Joking aside, it is a nice looking transfer, nothing phenomenal, however.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The disc comes with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is effective but let’s face it, this is not the type of movie to test an audio track. The film of course is heavily dialogue-driven and is crisp and clear with the front and rear channels being relegated for side-action or ambient noise such as the score.
OVERALL – 2.75/5
Overall, The Internship is a weak comedy and the only success it manages is the re-pairing of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson who generally have great chemistry, otherwise the script (co-written by Vaughn) is half-baked and the funny moments, while a few, is too far and between. This is not a bad movie by a long shot and might be worthwhile as a time waster, but it’s also one you can skip and won’t miss. The Blu-ray provides good audio/video transfers and the bonus material is limited.
The Movieman
Published: 10/26/2013