Le Nouveau Stagiaire

Really liked this film. I got invested in the two main characters and what they were both going through. I so wanted it to reach an ending I could get behind....but. It's a good watch, easy going but with a likeable cast. Robert De Niro is spot on, as is Anne Hathaway. Super busy start-up company headed by Anne Hathaways character (the founder) starts a scheme to hire interns who are 'senior' in age. Super busy Jules (Hathaways character) gets Ben (De Niros character) as a direct help, but she doesn't necessarily want that help. She warms to him, but then makes a mess of things, but sees the error of her ways, but behind all this are problems in her personal life. With his life experience Ben is able to help in many ways around the company but also act as a sounding board as Jules is trying to find a CEO to help run the company. Then you get to the end and it fails to deliver. So dear film student, watch this to find out how not to end a film.

I caught an advance screening of this last night. The theater was close to being packed with men, woman and children. The movie was surprisingly quite funny; didn't know anything about it before viewing. The entire theater ended up cracking up numerous times. There were various times I felt bad for De Niro's character, but he was optimistic and didn't let it effect him, so it was great. There were a couple of instances I would have never guessed things about the movie. There is one scenario in the story that is tough; what would you do if put in that circumstance. I believe ages 20-80 can relate to this movie. We had De Niro's aspect as well as Hathaway's. Good storyline. The "Intern" group of guys were funny too. I'd see this again.

A retired 70-year-old widower, Ben (played by Robert De Niro), is bored with retired life. He applies to a be a senior intern at an online fashion retailer and gets the position. The founder of the company is Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), a tireless, driven, demanding, dynamic workaholic. Ben is made her intern, but this is a nominal role - she doesn't intend to give him work and it is just window dressing. However, Ben proves to be quite useful and, more than that, a source of support and wisdom.

Good, and surprisingly so. I was expecting a farcical half-baked comedy about how an old guy rejoins the work force and struggles with modern gadgets and work processes. There are a few examples of that but the movie is far more than a story about generational differences. It's more a drama than a comedy, and is a good one too. There's themes of generational wisdom, not judging people by their age (or anything superficial) and making the most of people's talents. It's also a movie about starting over, and doing what you enjoy.

Moreover, it's simply a nice story.

Solid work by Robert De Niro in the lead role. He doesn't do bad performances, but that hasn't stopped him in the past from taking on roles and movies that are well below his standards. This is not one of those roles or movies. Sensitively played, and ideal for the role.

Good work too by Anne Hathaway, who is very convincing as the go- getting entrepreneur.

Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) is a 70 year old Brooklyn widower and a retired executive from the phone company. His son's family lives out of town. He tries to fill his days of leisure. He spots a flyer advertising internships for senior citizens. It's a fast-paced fashion internet commerce site run by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway). It's been a hectic 18 months for the married mother of little girl and she is reluctantly forced to use Ben as her assistant. Her husband Matt gave up his job to be the stay-at-home dad. Fiona (Rene Russo) is the company masseuse. Ben befriends everyone until Fiona starts to find him indispensable.

Nancy Meyers gets a bad rap as the rom-com has become a passe genre. This is not a rom-com but it is a friend-com. De Niro is a little too perfect as the magical old guy with all the answers and lessons for the young ones. This movie is a bit too neat and clean with the characters. Hathaway is the driven multi-tasking internet executive. The characters may be stock but the actors make them breathe. Some of the side characters have some fun. The big twist (not that surprising) does not really raise the drama although Nancy is trying to say somethings. It all combines to create a nice pairing of these two great actors.

Without knowing too much about the plot, I assumed this was taking De Niro down a familiar trodden path of another "Fokker" type role. How wrong I was! This is a very endearing, gentle and easily watchable escapade that sees an ageing De Niro being given an internship with an e-commerce fashion company and becoming surprisingly useful at bestowing his considerable knowledge to his new colleagues. I can't remember ever seeing De Niro play such a likable role without seemingly any flaws to his character. Hathaway charms her way through the film and there's a nice cameo from Russo as a love interest. A film that doesn't try too hard to be funny and comes across better for it.