THE INTERNSHIP

US, 2013, 119 minutes, Colour.
Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Aasif Mandvi, Max Minghella, Will Ferrell, John Goodman, Josh Brenner, Dylan O’Bryan?, Josh Gad.
Directed by Shawn Levy.

Surprisingly entertaining and funny.

Star Vince Vaughn thought up this story and co-wrote the screenplay. It has something for everyone, old and young – and some useful messages for both those same old and young.

Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are crack salesman, with humorous pitches, lots of hail-fellow-well-met palaver, and personalized play for customers. The trouble is their watch company has folded and the boss, John Goodman, tells them they are out of a job. Redundant in early middle age! Nick gets a job from his sister’s boyfriend, an amusingly sneering and obtuse Will Ferrell. Billy finds an ad for an internship with Google.

This is definitely a Google film with the logo everywhere of course and lots of promotion. But, it is done quite well – and who doesn’t use Google! The DVD distributors of Flashdance and Jennifer Beal won’t be sorry that Billy often uses the film as his way of urging his young collaborators to take risks – the youngsters have never heard of it and play a joke on the oldies by sending them off to Stanford to meet Professor Charles Xavier. They meet a lookalike with some momentary dire results. Poor middle-aged oldies have never heard of the X-Men!

What seems to loom as a satire on older wariness of computers is not. Billy and Nick certainly make lots of mistakes, even referring to being on-the-line, but they do apply themselves and do learn a lot to find a place in a 21st century IT world.

In fact, there is quite some satire on the young IT nerds/geeks/whatever who are whiz kids on programming, terminology and solving computer problems but whose dedication to sitting and staring at screens is turning them into virtual zombies. Billy and Nick urge them into a real world, though the strip club, drinking and bar brawl is a too long and silly an initiation into macho reality – the sitting and looking at the view of the real San Francisco is ultimately more rewarding.

Billy and Nick are put in a competitive team of leftovers not chosen by the crack teams, including a Japanese-American? with a tyrannical mother, a Latina, a couldn’t-care-less white boy, all under the wing of the most earnest nerd. What hope have they? But, despite all appearances to the contrary (and ‘all’ is the operative word), we know that they are going to succeed: a team drawing on all talents.

And, of course, there is quite a nasty self-important young villain (Max Minghella) who compensates for having no people skills by being arrogant to everyone, his team included.

Not to forget a pleasant romance between Nick and Rose Byrne, an ice-maiden IT professional, allowed to keep some of her Australian accent.

This is a good-natured film, surprisingly less crass than might have been expected, with a lot of wit and jokes and Vaughn being difficult but redeemable and Owen Wilson being nice and pleasant.

1. An enjoyable comedy? The blend of comic and serious? For older audiences, younger?
2. Contemporary America, change, technology, employment issues, re-training?
3. The old and learning to adapt? The young to be less sure and arrogant, for them to rediscover the real world rather than so much immersion in the virtual world?
4. Billy and Nick, their age, experience, personal styles, expertise and sales? The plans and their practice? The dinner with the client, jovial, jokes, personal touches? The truth about the closure of the company? The shock?
5. The owner of the company, arrogant manner, bullying? Billy and Nick stranded? Facing the job search? At their age?
6. Nick and his working selling matresses, his sister’s boyfriend and his rudeness, arrogance, flirting with girls, rude to older customers? Will Ferrell comedy? Nick and his help from his sister?
7. Billy, interrupting the mattress work, the idea of the internship, persuading Nick to agree? The going to the library, the interview on the computer screen? The plea? Saying they were studying on line? The interviewers and their questions, and puzzle?
8. Google board, the discussions, the criticisms of having Billy and Nick, the young man taking up the defence, Mr Chetty the manager and it being revealed at the end that he supported them and wanted them to have opportunities?
9. Google, the reality, promotion, the offices, staff and training, tests, research?
10. The campus, Billy and Nick standing out, Graham and his thinking they were experts? His insults? The differences? Setting up teams? The individuals on the periphery, Stuart, Yo-Yo?, the Hispanic girl?
11. The meetings, the tests, Mr. Chetty and the questions, Billy and Nick getting them wrong, interested in fraternising? The team meetings, Stuart indifferent, the Japanese young man and his earnestness? Lyle put in charge, his earnestness, determination to win, nerd, attempts at humor?
12. Yo-Yo? and the pressure from his mother, plucking his eyebrow with guilt, Stuart and his indolence, the girl and her talents? Billy and his continually using Flashdance for motivation? The trick with X-Men? and Professor Xavier?
13. The various projects, the bad start with the group, the quidditch game, Graham and his cheating? The idea for the app and it and its success? The customer service, Billy and his not switching on, the final customer sales?
14. The night out in the town, the drinking, the dances, the brawl? The effect on each of the characters? An overlong section? The sitting out on the Golden Gate bridge and seeing the real view of San Francisco?
15. Nick, Dana, her personality, committed to work, his approach, tentative, her acceptance of the date, the gradual friendship, the meal, discussions, going out, the relationship?
16. Billy, brash, his learning, especially for customer response? The man with the headphones, seeming not to hear, his helping Billyg with his study? Billy’s not turning on, his being excluded, his leaving, his apology, Nick going to find him, persuading him to come back? The contact with their old boss and his offering them a job, Billy’s going to the old people’s home, the salesman and his dalliances with the old ladies?
17. Graham and his team, his arrogant leadership, British, his insulting the fat member of his team? His angers, the outbursts of the end, insulting everyone, a very bad loser?
18. The sales, going to the pizza parlour, the group and the earnest attempt at persuasion, not succeeding? Billy coming back, with Nick, the sales talk, the idea of expansion, their persuasion?
19. The finale, the announcement, the regulations, their being allowed to present? The man with the headphones and his final speech? Mr Chetty and his announcement?
20. The humour of the film, the message of the film, for older people to adapt, for younger people to be more flexible and inventive?