Is the 2013 comedy The Internship actually a two-hour advertisement for Google?

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson teamed up to play aging interns at Google, the result was a box office success that left critics divided. While audiences enjoyed the lighthearted premise, many reviewers dismissed the film as a feature-length corporate commercial, sparking a debate about product placement in modern cinema.

Released in 2013, The Internship follows two middle-aged salesmen who, after losing their jobs, land internships at Google. The film, directed by Shawn Levy, relies on the established chemistry between leads Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. The project originated from Vaughn’s interest in a 60 Minutes segment on Google’s corporate culture. Google cooperated with the production, with founder Larry Page suggesting the film could help address the company's marketing challenges regarding computer science.

The film’s portrayal of the tech giant drew intense scrutiny. While some former employees acknowledged the accuracy of the physical environment, they noted the actual internship process bears little resemblance to the movie. Critics were particularly harsh, with many labeling the production a glorified advertisement. Reviewers like David Cox and Mark Kermode described it as a corporate video, with Kermode calling it one of the most humorless films he had ever seen. The film holds a 34% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences polled by CinemaScore were more generous, awarding it a B+.

Controversy also surrounded the level of influence Google exerted over the script. While director Shawn Levy insisted the company only provided technical assistance, reports from outlets like CNN suggested the studio granted Google some control over how its products were depicted. The film’s timing was also a point of contention; critics argued the pairing of Vaughn and Wilson would have been more impactful had it followed their 2005 success in Wedding Crashers, a sentiment famously satirized by The Onion.

Despite the critical backlash, the film performed reasonably well, grossing $93.5 million worldwide against a $58 million budget. It remains a curious case study in the intersection of Hollywood entertainment and corporate branding, illustrating the fine line between a narrative comedy and a promotional tool. Whether viewed as a charming underdog story or a 'creepy' recruitment film, it stands as a unique artifact of 2013 pop culture.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• How a 70-year-old intern became the unlikely anchor for a high-speed fashion startup
• Why Ron Howard’s 2011 comedy The Dilemma failed to find its audience
• Are your digital habits being engineered by a handful of people in Silicon Valley?
• A retail rivalry fueled by romance and workplace deception
• The Googleplex is more than an office; it is a monument to corporate ambition.
• How a French buddy comedy became a global phenomenon and a cultural touchstone
• Why a high-budget sci-fi thriller became a commercial and critical disaster
• A minor gutter dispute in Beirut ignites a nation’s buried civil war trauma
• What if you lived in a world where nobody could ever tell a lie?
• A cinematic masterpiece about corporate silence that failed to capture the box office
• How a Spanish thriller became a global phenomenon through illegal file sharing
• Luchino Visconti’s final masterpiece is a chilling portrait of masculine vanity and moral decay.

More in Films · More in Entertainment · Latest · A–Z · All topics