Way back in 2005, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson teamed up for Wedding Crashers, one of the funniest comedies of the last decade, that really showed the pair had real chemistry together. It's obvious that bringing them together again for Shawn Levy's (Real Steel, The Watch) The Internship was an attempt to reignite that fire, but sadly that's not the case. The pair play a pair of aging, technophobic salesmen who lose their jobs thanks to the Internet. With no other options left, they apply for an internship at Google, a place where they are woefully out of place. Teaming up with a group of fellow misfits, they attempt to beat the odds and bag themselves new jobs.
From that above synopsis, you can probably figure out how the story turns out. That is one of the films major problems. It is crushingly predictable, which made the movie a chore for me to watch. The story is completely uninspired. If you can look past how unbelievable the main conceit that the two don't know anything about Iphones or social networks, how the story progresses just smacks of 'being there, done that', as well as offering no believable conflict or surprises. At times, considering Vaughn and Wilson's involvement, it just seems like a rehash of Wedding Crashers (complete with Will Ferrell cameo), especially the third act, which pretty much copies that earlier movie beat for beat. The cast of characters is similarly uninspired, including the usual suspects of stereotypes, including the overachieving Asian, the obnoxious rival who looks down on our heroes, and the love sick nerd pining for a girl seemingly out of his league. Again you have seen all these before, but The Internships biggest crime (along with this years worst case of product placement since Man of Steel) is that it's a comedy that's just not funny. It tries to poke fun at geek culture (everything from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones is referenced), throwing joke after joke at the wall, but only one or two actually sticks. I will admit to finding myself chuckle once or twice, but when all a comedy can ring out of me is a handful of half hearted chuckles, there is something very, very wrong.
Vaughn and Wilson don't stretch themselves here. They are pretty much doing their usual scthick, playing every character they've ever played before (including, yes, Wedding Crashers), and I've got to say, it is really starting to grate on me. They are good actors, they have shown it before, but their seeming reluctance to play anything but the brash, lovable loudmouth and soft spoken nice guy respectively is mind boggling. The supporting cast is similarly wasted, with Rose Byrne really getting the short shrift as the love interest who is immediately put on the shelf once her role is done with.
On paper, The Internship probably sounded like a really good idea, but it's execution has delivered a predictable, unfunny, waste of talent.
From that above synopsis, you can probably figure out how the story turns out. That is one of the films major problems. It is crushingly predictable, which made the movie a chore for me to watch. The story is completely uninspired. If you can look past how unbelievable the main conceit that the two don't know anything about Iphones or social networks, how the story progresses just smacks of 'being there, done that', as well as offering no believable conflict or surprises. At times, considering Vaughn and Wilson's involvement, it just seems like a rehash of Wedding Crashers (complete with Will Ferrell cameo), especially the third act, which pretty much copies that earlier movie beat for beat. The cast of characters is similarly uninspired, including the usual suspects of stereotypes, including the overachieving Asian, the obnoxious rival who looks down on our heroes, and the love sick nerd pining for a girl seemingly out of his league. Again you have seen all these before, but The Internships biggest crime (along with this years worst case of product placement since Man of Steel) is that it's a comedy that's just not funny. It tries to poke fun at geek culture (everything from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones is referenced), throwing joke after joke at the wall, but only one or two actually sticks. I will admit to finding myself chuckle once or twice, but when all a comedy can ring out of me is a handful of half hearted chuckles, there is something very, very wrong.
Vaughn and Wilson don't stretch themselves here. They are pretty much doing their usual scthick, playing every character they've ever played before (including, yes, Wedding Crashers), and I've got to say, it is really starting to grate on me. They are good actors, they have shown it before, but their seeming reluctance to play anything but the brash, lovable loudmouth and soft spoken nice guy respectively is mind boggling. The supporting cast is similarly wasted, with Rose Byrne really getting the short shrift as the love interest who is immediately put on the shelf once her role is done with.
On paper, The Internship probably sounded like a really good idea, but it's execution has delivered a predictable, unfunny, waste of talent.
