Entertainment : An older, wiser De Niro makes ‘Intern’ one of the year's best movies

The world is crazy, disconnected and in need of a wise voice of experience to gently guide it.

And Robert De Niro – who we mostly remember playing the part of one of those most desperately in need of guidance (as in the “Fockers” and the “Analyze” movies) – is that voice in “The Intern.”

Some of the best moments of his newest film, however, come when De Niro says nada. The funniest and most poignant moments are those in which he uses his expression to communicate with the other characters and the audience. It’s that surprisingly serious wisdom – dotted with several laugh out loud moments – that make “The Intern” one of the best movies to hit the big screen this year.

After a summer of stale, predictable sequels (MI really watching another Tom Cruise Movie? Furious Redundancies, etc.), Hollywood surprises us with a thoughtful, funny film about a second careers and second chances.

If you need to blow off some meeting or non-essential event to go see it Wednesday or Thursday at the Vinton Palace Theatre, where I saw it on Tuesday (five minutes after the Cubs/Cardinals game ended).

The story

Quoting – or more likely, kind of quoting – Freud, the movie starts with Ben Whitaker (De Niro) telling us that the famous Freud said that the two things that matter in life are love and work.

“But,” says Ben, “I am retired and my wife is dead.”

Looking for a break from the doldrums of retirement, Ben sees a flier for a “senior intern program” at a relatively young but very fast-growing e-commerce fashion company led by Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), who began the company at her kitchen table but is now overwhelmed with the technical and human resources (called “Talent Acquisition” in the movie) challenges that fast growth piles on a young entrepreneur.

Reluctantly, at first, Jules begins working with Ben, who seems to have the answer for many of the challenges she faces at work, and at home.

Ben, at age 70, shares his patient wisdom and insight into work, chivalry (he explains the purpose of a pocket handkerchief to guys who neither wear suits nor tuck in their shirts), and relationships, with Jules and her closest associates.

The rest of the story is a fast-paced big city ride I will let you see for yourself.

Why you should go

It’s everything I complain that most movies are not: Original. Funny without being crude. Believable.

What you should know before you go

The movie is rated PG-13 for some sexual innuendo and language, but really those scenes are considerably more mild than most in movies of that rating.

“The Intern” is one of those movies that the audience (80 percent) likes noticeably more than the critics (60 percent), according to Rotten Tomatoes. I think the reason for that is that most of those critics are the 20-something or 30-something types depicted in the movie as desperately in need of guidance. As a recent member of the 50-something club, I would generally agree, although the movie does depict many of them as quite clueless.

My favorite part: Hearing and feeling the audience’s reaction to both the humorous moments of the movie, as well as the challenges Ben helps Jules face.

PS: Those of us in the 50+ crowd saw previews of two more movies that we may like. “A Walk in the Woods” features Robert Redford and Nick Nolte as retirees walking the Appalachian Trail.  And “The Visit” may give young parents a new way of looking at what happens when they send their kid’s to see Grandpa and Grandma – or maybe it’s an expression of the humorous horror my health-conscious daughter feels knowing what I am most likely to feed the baby when she is alone with me.