Anne Hathaway explains why her latest film isn’t a “chick flick”

The term “chick flick” gets thrown around a lot. What was once used to describe a movie you watch with your girlfriends, it’s quickly becoming a catchall term for any movie with a female lead, and carries the assumption that movies in the genre can only be enjoyed by women. And that’s just not true! But once somebody classifies a movie as a chick flick, we subconsciously connect the dots in our heads and assume the plot follows that of Legally Blonde plus The Notebook.

The same term is being applied to Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro’s new movie, The Intern. Even though the movie stars Hathaway as a successful entrepreneur, the film is already being classified—and dismissed, by some—as a chick flick. But to do so would be to give a misleading impression of the movie, based on the assumptions we tend to (rightfully or not) make about chick flicks.

“I’m not just worried about people that might dismiss it as a chick flick, I’m also worried about people that might look at it and say ‘Oh, that looks sweet,’” Hathaway told EW. “People are so snarky nowadays, and I feel that they might roll their eyes or mouth vomit or something.”

There you have it, straight from the source: The Intern. Is not. A chick flick. And Jules Ostin, Hathaway’s strong female lead, is not a bosslady for bosslady’s sake—she has dimension and depth.

“She’s juggling a million things … she seems to be losing grip on all these things she’s worked so hard for,” the actress said of her character. “And then something wonderful happens. The last person she thinks can help her comes into her life. The person who she thought was going to be a burden comes in, and just by listening to her, just by being compassionate, letting her go at her own pace and supporting her, allows her to blossom.”

So if The Intern isn’t a chick flick, what is it? Well, for one, it’s a comedy. But it’s one of those rare comedies you can watch and enjoy with anybody.

“The reason I made this movie was that [my husband and I] were visiting my in-laws and we couldn’t see any movies that we were thrilled about. And then I read this script and I thought for many different reasons, we’d all have a screamingly good time seeing this movie,” Hathaway explained. “And I could see this with my friends and I could see this movie with my parents. People are going to do what they’re going to do, but the comedy is genuine, and laughing is a singularly pleasurable experience.”

Okay, we’re sold. We can’t wait to see The Intern! With our girlfriends, partner, parents, grandparents—whoever. Because it’s a movie made for everyone to enjoy.

(Image via Warner Bros.)