What do you get when you combine Vince Vaughan’s manic fast-talking with Owen Wilson‘s boyish charm? Wedding Crashers. Well, and The Internship.
That’s right – everyone’s favourite not-so-odd couple are back for Wedding Crashers 2.0, however this time the action takes place at the headquarters of everyone’s favourite not-so-subtle product placement – Google. Vince “The Mouth” Vaughan and Owen “The Nose” Wilson play two ex-salesmen rendered obsolete by the technological age. Struggling to find their feet in a world dominated by Androids (Note: this is not a sci-fi film), they decide to be “true to [their] dreams” and apply for an internship at the world’s largest and most powerful in-door jungle gym. What exactly those “dreams” are is never made clear, but apparently working for Google can make any dream come true, regardless of said dream.
Now before I settle down and make myself comfortable in Cynical Valley, lets get one thing clear – The Internship should not work in any way. We’ve literally seen every aspect of the film before (except for the level of product placement on offer) and the film is more formulaic than my year 10 algebra class. Vaughan and Wilson bring absolutely nothing fresh or unique to their “characters”, and did I mention the product placement?
I should have hated this movie; I should have been angered by it; I should have felt the urge to walk out as soon as Vince Vaughn googled the word “Google”. But I didn’t walk out. I stayed and watched. And you know what – I bloody-well loved every minute of it!
Much like making love to a premature ejaculator, it’s important to have the appropriate expectations in place when watching The Internship. This film is not going to win any Oscars; Daniel Day Lewis will not sit through it wishing he were offered the opportunity to play Owen Wilson. But what this film will do, if you give in to its charm and gag your inner intellectual for an hour and half, is put a smile on your face and a spring in your step that will carry you back to your car/bike/unicycle/other. From the minute our boys belt out the chorus to Alanis Morissette’s Íronic in the opening scene, we are made aware that we have come to see more of the same; but that “same” is just so entertaining.
Sure the plotline is as predictable as the contents of Joel Madden’s hotel room, but what this film lacks in originality it makes up for with some big, laugh-out-loud moments. For those of us born before Mary Kate and Ashley began looking like heroine junkies, there are 80’s references galore and some old favourites make well received cameos; I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say one of their names might rhyme with Bill Shmerrell.
However, what really carries the film is the energy of Vowen Vilson. Clearly improvising most of their dialogue, their chemistry is as vibrant as ever and they genuinely appear to be having fun with the “fish-out-of-water” setup. They inject just enough heart into their performances to leave you feeling a little soppy and almost inspired, but know when to let loose and do what they do best – bullshit!
I should have hated this movie; I should have been angered by it; but instead it served as the perfect Sunday night wind-down. Sometimes, it’s the film’s of which you have the lowest expectations that you end up enjoying the most.
Now isn’t that ironic?