Archives for posts with tag: Linda Lavin

The soundtrack is very nice in “The Intern” (2015). Happy and comforting. That’s also kind of the role that Robert De Niro plays as a senior citizen intern at an e-commerce startup founded by Anne Hathaway. The story is predictable: geezer who knows nothing about tech transforms into wise elder in eyes of younger co-workers and everyone learns a little something about themselves. Awww. Like the film’s marketing slogan: “Experience never gets old.” Awww. Thankfully, the filmmakers avoid total cliche immersion and spare us from the typical over-the-top ending involving corporate back-stabbing, contrived boardroom speeches and/or impossible last-minute deadlines. Awww.

 

It is appropriate that artificial insemination is a key plot point in “The Back-Up Plan” (2010). The entire film smacks of artificiality. Don’t get me wrong. Jennifer Lopez has many moments of adorability and watching her be cute for 108 minutes wouldn’t be the worst way to fill a Sunday afternoon. But this rom-com is just so TV movie-of-the-week. The romantic interest is a TV guy (Alex O’Loughlin) and most of the cast are TV people (Tom Bosley, Noureen DeWulf, Linda Lavin, Melissa McCarthy). The producer? You guessed it: CBS Films. It’s not a film, it’s a cross-platform marketing tool.