by Nathan Braised
Troy University is quite a ways away from Silicon Valley, but most every student will have to worry about an internship at some point, and some of those internships may take you outside your comfort zone. At least not THIS far outside your comfort zone.
“The Internship” is a 2013 comedy directed by Shawn Levy, and follows two middle-aged men taking on an internship at Google.
Billy McMahon, played by Vince Vaughan, and Nick Campbell, played by Owen Wilson, are salesmen that go around and… well, sell things. After a failed business meeting with a client, the pair miss out on a huge payday. To make matters worse, the company they work for completely shuts down.
Looking for a fresh start, Billy signs them both up for a summer internship at Google, despite the two being computer illiterate. After giving a dreadful virtual interview, they are both somehow admitted into the program.
Upon arrival, everyone must split up into teams of their own choosing, and since Nick and Billy are twice the age of every other competitor, they get left with the other rejects; a team that is basically Island of the Nerdy Misfit Toys.
Team leader Lyle tries too hard to fit in, Stuart is obsessed with his phone and is riddled with narcissism, Yo-Yo is a computer genius that grew up in a super strict household, and Neha is a nerdy cosplayer.
Not much to really demonize, but with their ragtag group being matched up with the equivalent of Roar Omega Roar, they’re gonna be in for a rough summer. Come to think of it, this movie has so many things in common with “Monsters University” it’s not even funny.
The team that does the best through several challenges wins a job at Google. The first challenge reveals how useless Nick and Billy are in the tech world, and the others realize their chances of working for the company are pretty much squandered.
In true geek fashion, the physical activity challenge the teams play is a game of Quidditch. Billy and Nick give an inspiring speech that unites the group to really compete. It ends up a close game, and their rival ends up victorious after cheating in the sudden-death ending.
In the turning point of the competition, the team does exceptionally well, but Billy makes a blunder costing the entire victory for his team. He runs off in self-pity for all of six minutes and comes back to help with the final challenge, in which the team has to make a sale to a local business.
With Billy and Nick’s expertise, they finalize a sale with an expanding pizza chain, and end up winning the competition. Honestly, the reasoning is just straight Hollywood magic, but I didn’t watch the previous 90 minutes to see them lose.
In the end, the good guys win, the bad guys lose, roll credits.
"The Internship" is a super easy watch in any circumstance, and you’re bound to get some laughs throughout. It’s no “Wedding Crashers,” but it’ll do in a pinch.
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