'The Intern': How Nancy Meyers makes hit movies about relationships
Nancy Meyers' latest film stars Robert De Niro as a retiree who decides to go back to work as an intern for a fashion website.
'The Intern' stars Robert De Niro (r.) and Anne Hathaway (l.).
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
The newest movie from director Nancy Meyers, 鈥淭he Intern,鈥� opens on Sept. 25 and stars Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.
In 鈥淚ntern,鈥� De Niro stars as a widower, Ben, who decides to become an intern for a fashion site. Hathaway is Jules, a higher-up at the site and is struggling with work and how much it dominates her life. The two soon learn from one another.
Meyers, who directed and wrote the film, was also previously behind such hit movies as 鈥淚t鈥檚 Complicated,鈥� 鈥淭he Holiday,鈥� 鈥淪omething鈥檚 Gotta Give,鈥� and 鈥淲hat Women Want.鈥�
When moviegoers think of the romantic comedy genre, they most likely think of recent hits like 鈥淭he Proposal,鈥� 鈥淢y Big Fat Greek Wedding,鈥� and 鈥淗itch,鈥� movies that focus on younger characters than those that sometimes appear in Meyers鈥� films. In 鈥淚t鈥檚 Complicated,鈥� Meyers鈥� most recent movie before 鈥淚ntern,鈥� protagonist Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) becomes romantically involved with her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) after the two have divorced and have adult children.
Her 2003 hit 鈥淕ive鈥� focuses on Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson), who starts out dating a young woman named Marin (Amanda Peet) but soon finds himself falling for her mother (Diane Keaton), who is closer in age to him.聽
In an , Meyers said of Streep鈥檚 character in 鈥淐omplicated,鈥� who has an enjoyable job, close friends, and two potential romantic interests, 鈥淪he has a full, vibrant life. It鈥檚 important to me to show that there are some parts of life that really improve as you get older.鈥� She did add, however, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be known as the one who makes movies for older people. I鈥檓 just making movies about relationships.鈥澛�
While 鈥淚ntern鈥� does not center on a romantic relationship, the film has De Niro鈥檚 character, Ben, as a fish out of water in the new digital business world.聽聽
Meyers鈥� highest-grossing movie domestically is still her 2000 hit 鈥淲hat Women Want,鈥� which centers on the character of an ad executive (Mel Gibson) who suddenly gains the ability to hear women鈥檚 thoughts and becomes involved with his co-worker (Helen Hunt). But films like 鈥淐omplicated鈥� and 鈥淕ive鈥� became hits, too, showing that audiences will turn out for Meyers鈥� movies with older protagonists, and they did far better than Meyers鈥� 2006 movie 鈥淭he Holiday,鈥� which stars Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz.