The Internship Review

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson enter the Summer of Film competition with a budding comedy romp. Can their charms win over audiences again?
When it comes to any 'buddy comedy' such as The Internship released in this decade, fans of the genre naturally come to expect two interwoven elements to be consistently present in new entries- regular effective humour, and a sense of profound charm present in the dynamic of the main duo of protagonists. If one of these two elements is missing, there will be an inevitable aura of disappointment and mediocrity surrounding proceedings. If both of those vital elements of quality are missing, then inevitably to viewers it may seem that the entire piece of cinema can be deemed a wasted endeavour.

With any luck, you'll see quite clearly where this review is going. Although this isn't on the same level of narrative disparity as 2013's worst comedy efforts, Movie 43 and A Haunted House, Vince Vaughn certainly hasn't outdone himself on any level with his new self-scribed piece. The Internship shamelessly recycles a number of tired comedy tropes into its storyline that quickly make the whole viewing experience something of a chore, whether it's in the sense of distinct deja vu plaguing each of its 'gag' setpieces or indeed in the deeply predictable relationship between its buddy pair of hapless heroes.

This reviewer is often inclined to note that any piece of entertainment such as this is redeemed by a strong cast at the helm, yet such an assertion could not be less apt in this case. On the contrary, it is in fact the overwhelmingly safe portrayal of protagonists Billy and Nick by Vaughn and Wilson respectively that bring the whole production down to its proverbial knees. It's clear that in taking the script upon himself, the former actor of the pair had Wilson in mind for his comic counterpart, and thus there's an overridding sense that the lacklustre dialogue is not so much intended to stretch either performer as to simply play to their strengths.

Such a strategy is not always a detrimental factor- however, any fans of either Vaughn's or Owen's work who have seen Dodgeball, Marley And Me or their last collaboration The Watch will know too avidly what to expect here, which makes the experience seem like one of going through the motions more than anything else. Once such a quality pervades proceedings, any inert charm found amongst the contributors to the supporting cast is lost in Vaughn's irksome cocky soliloquys and indeed in Owen's equally unmemorable supporting analogies along the way. This is a true shame, as one or two back-benchers here like Rose Byrne, John Goodman and Danny O'Brien give sterling renditions in spite of the awkward lines afforded to their characters by Vaughn's unambitious screenplay.

That aforementioned lack of ambition carries through to Internship's overall narrative arc. At first, the premise of a comedy flick set within the chambers of Google seems rather original, and yet before you can say 'bagel', events twist the somewhat innovative set-up into a deeply unappealing romp involving peer growth, teamwork and self-belief that we've seen recapped a thousand times before, not least in the two leads' own respective defining breakthrough instalments. Were the script able to recapture any of the true charm and compulsion of its predecessors, this deja vu-ridden plot would perhaps be forgivable. As predicted, though, the opposite is true, resulting in one of the most prolonged two-hour viewing experiences of 2013 so far.

In the end, perhaps it's only apt that in a motion picture that places its focus so heavily on the employees in a company who display notable shortcomings and aspects of naievity, viewers are presented with a similarly inept piece of cinema which seems to simply stumble towards moments of genuine quality rather than earn them. Indeed, there's a sense that in more experienced hands, this could have been a strong social commentary in terms of generational contrasts regarding perceptions of technology. The worst problem, then? Under the helm of Vaughn and Owen, The Internship should have been a breath of fresh air in a Summer of Film virtually devoid of sequel-free narrative arcs- instead, it somehow manages the rare feat of attaining the status of one of the most disappointing buddy comedy movies of recent times.
2/5