Friday, June 7, 2013

The Internship Movie Review

Owen Wilson gives chase to Vince Vaughn in The Internship

From our friends at DC Film Review...

Their Googliness is Off the Charts

I'm the last person anyone would accuse of being sentimental; but I couldn't help myself while enjoying 20th Century Fox's The Internship, a reunion of Wedding Crashers stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson... and one of this year's best movies (stunner!)

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Wedding Crashers duo Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn reteam on this Shawn Levy-directed comedy as two out of work salesmen who have to compete as interns in a tech company in order to score a job.

What’s Best: Everyone should have a pair of pals like Vaughn & Wilson... especially Vaughn, who's as magnetic a star as you'll find in Hollywood today. The comedic duo pick up exactly where they left off in Wedding Crashers, except they've traded in their law degrees for the University of Phoenix (The Harvard of online schools.) The humor borders on sophomoric, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

The Internship has lots of great moments... Yo-Yo's first drink (not to mention his first, second and third lap dances) Vaughn's reaction to free food, references to Flashdance and dozens more. It has an Old School vibe throughout, but I liked that movie a lot too! P.S. Jessica Szohr is crazy hot as a stripper who catches the eye of team leader Lile (Josh Brener, a dead ringer for Tina Fey... only male.) Crazy hot.

What’s Not: It's a tad long (119 minutes) and features one of the most annoying characters you'll likely encounter on the big screen this summer... Max Minghella as a rival Noogle who gets under the skin of Billy, Nick and this reviewer. Don't get me wrong: Minghella plays the heck out of the role, but Graham is so over-the-top rotten... you'll want to hit him over the head with a Quidditch broomstick (and wonder why no one else thought of it first.)

Best Line: Settling on just one line is close to impossible: Jared Stern and Vaughn's screenplay is chock-full of hilarious one-liners and situations. Vaughn's Billy can sell anything, 'I'm your Bill Holden in Stalag 17' while best pal Nick reluctantly admits, 'Google has single-handedly cut into my ability to bullshit.' Passing references to "nickel-sized men" and "mental Hunger Games" are both clever and funny; but nothing can touch Yo-Yo's 'My mother hits harder than you!' in the middle of a bar brawl.

Overall: I almost applauded at the end: The Internship is equal parts funny, positive and uplifting without being too dirty or risque (although cameos by Will Ferrell and Rob Riggle come dangerously close.) Even the smallest details ring funny... whether it's Vaughn chatting up an entire restaurant in Chinese, or Yo-Yo's nervous habit of plucking his own eyebrows. Nothing beats a good comedy, especially for someone as skeptical and demanding as yours truly. It's not quite Pain & Gain; but The Internship has the advantage of being far less controversial, and potentially just as successful.

GradeB+