The Intern: The Movie Gets the Power of Work

The movie The Intern did not win any Academy Awards, which is hardly surprising. Punchy blockbuster comedies rarely receive Hollywood’s highest honors. But its message is nevertheless award worthy. In The Intern, actor Robert De Nero plays a seventy-year-old widowed retiree who realizes there is a massive hole in his life. 

After playing too many rounds of golf and embarking on numerous trips to see the grandchildren, he looks in the mirror and sees a glaring lack of meaning and purpose staring back. But what is he to do? 

After stumbling onto an advertisement for an entrepreneurial online fashion company offering nonpaid internships, DeNiro’s character applies. And guess what? He lands the job. The Intern evokes some big laughs, but it also explores a serious theme, engaging our human need to find meaning by both connecting with others and contributing to the world.