Hello Beautiful People,
I’m a little late to this one – but recently, I watched the film The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.
The formal synopsis is thus:
Seventy-year-old widower Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro), a retired executive from a phone directory company, applies to a senior citizen intern program after retirement has gotten too boring for him. The company in Brooklyn he applies to is About the Fit, a fast-growing e-commerce fashion startup, whose founder and CEO Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) had previously agreed to a community outreach program where seniors would intern at the firm. Ben impresses everyone and is one of four hired.
Ben is assigned to work with Jules, who is somewhat skeptical at first. Initially frozen out by her, Ben slowly wins over co-workers with his likability and gets into Jules’s good graces. One day, Ben notices Jules’s chauffeur drinking, convinces the driver to leave and drives Jules home himself, a role he retains in days to come.
Ben eventually reveals that he once worked in the very same building where About The Fit is now based. He develops a romantic relationship with the in-house massage therapist, Fiona (Rene Russo), and becomes something of a father figure to the younger workers. He is very committed to Jules, and even breaks into the house of Jules’s mother to delete an embarrassingly scathing email that Jules inadvertently sent her. Ben also gets to know Jules’ family. Her husband, Matt (Anders Holm), gave up his own career to be a stay-at-home dad to their daughter, Paige (JoJo Kushner), when About The Fit started to take off. However, their marriage is slowly breaking apart over Jules’s long hours, mainly caused by her very hands-on management style.
Meanwhile, Jules is under pressure to give up her post of CEO to someone outside of the company as her investors feel that she is unable to cope with the workload, having grown About The Fit from a startup founded in her kitchen to a 220-employee juggernaut in only eighteen months. Believing it will give her more time at home with her family, Jules is willing to consider the offer. While driving Paige home from a party, Ben discovers that Matt is having an affair with another parent at Paige’s school. While on a business trip in San Francisco to interview a potential CEO candidate, Jules reveals that she knows about Matt’s cheating as well.
In an effort to buy herself the time to repair her marriage, Jules decides to hire a prospective CEO. When Jules goes to Ben’s home the next day, Ben greatly encourages Jules to think about how much this will change her authority and how her creativity may be tampered with and also reminds her of her passion for her company. Matt unexpectedly drops in at the office and urges her to reconsider, saying that he is willing to make their marriage work. Jules goes out looking for Ben, wanting to tell him that she has changed her mind and finds him obviously enjoying his Tai Chi exercise group. She finally lets herself relax and joins him.”
My take?
It’s fantastic.
In the days of social media, and start-ups, and budding technology, it’s easy to lose the art of conversation. It’s easy to forget about taking the time to have a conversation with a co-working, in taking a sense of pride in what you do – no matter how small it may seem.
There’s also something to be said about the Senior Intern Program that is highlighted in the film — something I wish existed, (and hey, if it does, someone let me know in the comments section below!) I’m realizing how often we neglect or overlook the words and wisdom of older generations. How often do we poo-poo what they say? Tell them that they don’t understand?
I wonder what magic would happen if we took the time to explain.
The possibilities seem endless, eh?
Live, Love, Learn,