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“THE INTERN”
rs e “You should feel nothing but great about what you've
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done, and I'd hate to see you let anyone take that
away from you.” – Ben Whittaker
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A FILM REVIEW
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Submitted by: Marilen Grace T. Abejero

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 “THE INTERN”
A Film Review

I. INTRODUCTION

The Intern is an American buddy comedy-drama film directed, written and produced by
Nancy Meyers released on September 24, 2015 by Warner Bros. The film stars Robert De
Niro, Anne Hathaway, and Rene Russo, with supporting performances from Anders
Holm, Andrew Rannells, Adam DeVine, and Zack Pearlman. The plot follows a 70-year-
old widower who becomes a senior intern at an online fashion company, where he forms

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an unlikely friendship with the company's workaholic CEO. It received mixed reviews

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from critics and was a box office success, grossing $194.6 million worldwide against a

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$35 million production budget.

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II. SUMMARY OF THE STORY
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Senior citizen Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old widower, a retired executive from DEX One
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and who is living a comfortable life feels he needs to be more productive. He applied to
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About The Fit, a fast-growing fashion company in Brooklyn who is founded and run by
CEO Jules Ostin. Because of his wit and character, he impressed everyone and is one of
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four hired.
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Ben is assigned to work with the CEO, who is doubtful of him at first. However, Ben with
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his congeniality and great personality, slowly wins over his co-workers and gets into
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Jules'. On their first drive together, Ben asks a lot about Jules’ life. Because Jules is a very
private person, she finds this interrogation awkward and asks for Ben to be transferred.
But by the end of the day, they become very close. There was this moment when Jules
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arrives to the car to see Doris (Ben’s replacement) who says Ben has been transferred.
Doris, compared to Ben is a horrible driver. She drives into someone else's car and almost
crash into a building. With that, Jules begs Ben to come back, and so he does.

Ben, when he gets closer to Jules, eventually reveals that he once worked in the very same

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 building where About The Fit is now located. He develops a romantic relationship with
the in-house massage therapist, Fiona, and becomes a father figure to some of his
colleagues. Ben becomes very committed to Jules and even gets to know Jules' family.
Her husband, Matt, gave up his own career to be a stay-at-home dad to their daughter,
Paige, when About The Fit started to take off. However, they started to have problems
with their marriage since Jules focuses too much on her business.

One day, when Ben was asked to drive Paige home from a party, he discovers that Matt is
having an affair with another parent at Paige's school. Even with a heavy heart, he kept it
from Jules. However, while they were on a business trip in San Francisco to interview a

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potential CEO candidate, they had a chit-chat and Jules reveals that she knows about

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Matt's affair, but she could not confront Matt about it because she was not ready to deal

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with it and afraid of the consequences.

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Jules decides to hire a prospective CEO in order to buy herself time for her family and to
save her marriage. When Jules spoke to Ben in his house, he encourages Jules to think
about how much this will change her authority and how her creativity may be hindered
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and also reminds her of her passion for her company. One time, Jules’ husband Matt
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unexpectedly comes to her office and tells Jules about his affair and that he ended it
already. He urges Jules to reconsider, saying that he is sorry, ashamed, and wants Jules
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not to give up her post and that he will continue to support her in her dreams. They
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recommit to each other and promise to do better.

After which, Jules goes out looking for Ben, wanting to tell him that she has changed her
mind and finds him enjoying his tai chi exercise group. She finally lets herself relax and
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joins him in practicing tai chi, an act symbolic of her finding balance in her life.
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III. ANALYSIS OF THE PLOT ELEMENTS

Exposition – The story focuses between two main characters. Ben Whittaker, who is
living a comfortable life but feels he needs to be more productive and so he applied to
About The Fit, a fast-growing e-commerce fashion company in Brooklyn owned and run

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 by Jules Ostin. Ben is a very disciplined guy, smart, with sense of humor and cares about
the people around him. He is endearing, with humility, humanity, and unique spark. On
the other hand, Jules Ostin is a young entrepreneur, a career-oriented person. She spends
too much time working and loves what she does. She’s outgoing but doesn’t sleep
enough, she doesn’t eat enough, and in trying to be fully present in all areas of her life.

Rising Action – Ben and Jules were able to establish a good professional relationship and
became really close to the point that he even replaced Matt in taking his daughter to a
party because he said he was not feeling well. However, he finds that Matt was faking his
illness to meet another woman who he is clearly having an affair with when he sees him

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walk out of another rowhouse with this girl whom he gets into her car with and drives

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away. Ben couldn’t find the guts at first to tell Jules about what he saw and he was

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agitated and worried at the same time.

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Climax – When Jules and Ben took off for San Francisco the next day, Ben escorts Jules
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back to her room, it is clear she wants company. She invites him in his room and asks him
about his marriage, eventually confiding in him that she found out few days ago that Matt
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was cheating on her. Ben told her he saw them the previous day as Jules breaks down. He
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comforts her and tells her she should only hire the CEO if she wants to, not for anyone
else, and she should be able to have both a great career and a good marriage.
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Resolution – This is when Jules’ husband Matt unexpectedly comes to her office and tells
her that she should not hire the CEO for him. She tells Jules about his affair and that he
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ended it already. He urges Jules to reconsider, saying that he is sorry, ashamed, and wants
Jules not to give up her CEO post and that he will continue to support her in her dreams.
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They recommit to each other and promise to do better. She goes after Ben to tell him that
she changed her mind, to find him in a Tai Chi group. She joins him, finally letting herself
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relax.

IV. OPINION / REACTION

1. I enjoyed the movie. It was my first time watching it. I like the chemistry of the two main

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 characters performed by Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway. The plot is really a fun,
neat comedy and I experienced so much more. Ben reminded me of my father whom we
lost in 2019. He was quiet but a keen observer. He was always there for me and will do
everything for my sake and to make me happy. He supports my career and I remember
those moments, even if I am already married, he was the one who always drops me to and
fetch me from the companies whenever I apply for jobs. He was there giving advices
when I’m troubled with my career and my married life. He gets me my favorite food even
if I don’t tell him and I must say, he is more than a father but a best friend whom I can
rely on even during the best and the worst day of my life.

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2. The film best portrays one of life’s contemporary issues. Nowadays, balancing the

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demands of your career, your personal life, this digital/modern life and a married life can

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be really exhausting. Reasonably, it’s downright too much at times and sometimes, calling

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it quits can seem like the easier path.
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In my opinion, our modern lives are adding new stresses to our relationships. For
example, if your relationship is in a bit of is slump, you will look at your friend’s social
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media post showcasing pictures of husband-wife sweet bonding moments. This can leave
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you feeling dejected and frustrated. You will ask yourself “Why isn’t my relationship like
that?” “Why my wife/husband has no time for me?”, without even thinking that most the
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time, posts on social media are often sugar-coated, often filtered through rose-colored
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lenses. With that, you will start comparing your spouse to those you see on social media,
believing that there’s someone better who’s willing to spend more time with you. You will
start to lose affection and that’s when infidelity starts.
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However, there will never be a single secret ingredient to achieving marital bliss, two
people must work on it. With a touch of extra effort and learning how to successfully
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balance your jobs with your relationships are crucial. Keeping it alive is a process that
couples must work on to.

3. As I watched the movie today in 2021, I could say that some of the technologies used in
the movie were already outdated. For example, when Jules spoke to Cameron in the car,

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 she used the car’s TV monitor showing Skype. Primarily due to the now affordable long-
distance communication and much more modern and well-refined communication
services. We consider Skype as one of the video chat technology that is on the decline.
Another technology used in the movie is the typical/traditional alarm clock used by Ben.
We no longer use it since we have digital alarm clock in our mobile phones and even in
our smart/apple watches. But I remember back in high school, traditional alarm clock is
my best buddy. I can never stay too long in bed when it starts ringing.
In the movie, they also used mobile phones, laptops and tablet which are still very
common nowadays. These only differ on specifications and brand but the use and the
function is still the same.

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V. CONCLUSION

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The movie “Intern” reminds me that there is no perfect life. There will be times that we
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thought everything is alright. That when you strive hard to reach for your dreams, people
around you will celebrate with you. However, it is not always the case. It is true that when
we focus on one thing, we might lose the other. Just like what happened in the story when
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Jules and Matt almost lost their marriage. This story tells us that no matter what, we are
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ultimately in control of our own lives, and that, as we are only human at the end of the
day. Sometimes we must swallow our pride and ask somebody for help. It’s also a
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reminder than everyone, no matter their age, past or present experiences, has their own
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character and perception to share, and if we allow ourselves a moment to look beyond, we
might discover new relationships/friendships which might add a great deal of value and
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flavor to our lives.

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