The Internship – Google’s First Movie Commercial
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are returning as a team to the big screen. The Wedding Crashers’ duo latest project is called The Internship and it will premiere in theatres in a few days. As you can expect, the film is packed with comedy, self-mockery and acting improvisations.
Vaughn and Wilson play two 40-year-olds who have just lost their jobs because they are simply “dinosaurs” in the modern computerized age. Despite the sad start, the characters of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson don’t stay disheartened for long. They quickly find the perfect job opportunity – to work in a big technology corporation. The duo signs in for an internship program in the company, hoping to receive an approval. The only problem is that they are old. Nevertheless, their years of experience give them a place in the program as interns. The game is now on and they need to prove that they are better than their young, fragile, but more technology-savvy competition.
The plot has the potential of being really interesting and funny. So where is the problem? Well, the corporation for which Vaughn and Wilson’s characters are dreaming to work for is not a fictional one, but the well-known Google. As a result, the movie is filled with company products and it focuses a lot on the topic “Google is the best workplace.” Moreover, at times it actually feels like the characters are in a war and not in a competition for a job position. There is also some idealization of the corporation here and there. In the film, Google is said to be offering not simply services and products to consumers, but that it is doing them good for them.
In addition, The Internship lacks important emotional aspects and it is almost entirely dedicated to listing colourful praises for Google. The overegging of the pudding continues with an emphasis that the company is open for everyone. The various accents heard in the film and the two middle-aged interns who were kindly given the opportunity to join in the leagues of Google, attempt to suggest that the corporation is ready to shelter anyone in need for a job, no matter their age or background.
As a result, many critics define The Internship as a Google recruitment ad or a movie filled with product placement. Some even avoid to rate the film due to its brand-oriented nature.
It is not uncommon for Hollywood movies to feature product placement or to frequently mention the name of a famous company. Box office hits like I, Robot with Will Smith and Forrest Gump with Tom Hanks are just some of them. However, not many film productions are advertising one single brand throughout the whole story. The Internship is showing nearly all of Google’s flagship products like Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, Drive, Hangouts and many others. Furthermore, the characters are often seen discussing the products’ main features and advantages.
All in all, Vince Vaughn’s The Internship has a nice and fresh plot. The comedy side of the film makes it a good summer flick. Also, the chemistry between Vaught and Owen Wilson seen in Wedding Crashers is also present here. However, if you are not familiar with Google’s products or the company itself, you will find it hard to grasp some parts of the story. Nevertheless, if you can ignore the advertising in the movie, you may enjoy watching it.
