The Internship

Comedies! How can such a great genre consistently struggle to attempt in making audiences laugh, and most of the time fall flat on their faces? No other genre seems to struggle as much. Why is this? Most comedies I review, I either give it a lackluster one or a mediocre one, at best. With the way the world is so whacked out and the crazies are everywhere, there are more than enough good ideas to write an Oscar contender. Ah-h, the key word here is 'write'. Where are all the great comedy writers out there? When I saw the trailer on "The Internship", I wanted it to be funny--it certainly has a great premise, but as the trailer continued, I wondered.

Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital world. Trying to prove they are not obsolete, they defy the odds by talking their way into a coveted internship at Google along with a bazillion brilliant college students. But, gaining entrance to this utopia is only half the battle. The different students are told to divide into groups to compete, thus leaving Billy and Nick solitary, until they realize that there are four other 'outcasts' consisting of Lyle (Josh Brener), Stuart (Dylan O'Brien), Neha (Tiya Sircar), and Yo-Yo Santos (Tobit Rapael). They end up becoming a group and having to compete with the best of the best. As they compete with these elite tech-savvy geniuses, can they prove that necessity really is the mother of re-invention.

Others to round out the cast are Rose Byrne as Dana, Aasif Mandvi as Mr. Chetty, Max  Minghella as Graham Hawtrey, Josh Gad as Mr. Anderson, Eric Andre as Sid, Jessica Szohr as Marielena, Rob Riggle as Randy, Harvey Guillen as Zach, Gary Anthony Williams as Bob Williams, and an uncredited role from John Goodman as Billy and Nick's boss. Also there's a small role played by Will Ferrell as Nick's girlfriend's brother.

It was directed by the king of comedy, Shawn Levy ("Big Fat Liar" '02, "Just Married" '03, "Cheaper by the Dozen" '03, "The Deerings" (TV movie) '04, "Joint Custody" (TV movie) '05, "The Pink Panther" '06, "Night at the Museum" '06, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" '09, "Date Night" '10, "Family Album" (TV movie) '11, "Real Steel" '11, "Little Brother" (TV movie) '12, "Family Trap" (TV movie) '12). It was written by Vince Vaughn and Jared Stern based on a story by Vaughn. This is a comedy that one has to be patient with, in that it starts off with the usual kind of schtick that we've come to expect from most comedies. You know, the inane, toilet humor that is not well put together. Then, slowly, the plot starts shifting and the writing becomes much more palatable. The way this premise goes is pretty much predictable, but what actually makes this an improved film, is the way these guys took these misfits, and taught them that to succeed, they really have to depend on each other, and not just within the confines of the competition, but also in life itself. This realization will cause them to click and not only help one another, but WANT to help one another. So, you gotta 'wait' for this film to grab you.

Vaughn and Wilson also teamed up in '05's "The Wedding Crashers", and although it was an OK film, it didn't end up with them and others really learning something after all they went through. This was a much improved pairing of these two actors, and whether you're a fan or not of these guys, as the old adage goes, "Good things come for those that wait".

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                        Rated: PG-13                            119mins.