The Idea of You (2024)
Directed by Michael Showalter
Written by Michael Showalter, Jennifer Westfeldt
Starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine
Release Date May 2nd, 2024
Published May 7th, 2024
With this many talented people involved, I am shocked at how boring and basic The Idea of You turned out. Michael Showalter has proven to be an adept and quirky filmmaker. His previous films have an adventurous yet warm romantic humor. Jennifer Westfeldt, returning to screenwriting for the first time since her breakout screenplay Kissing Jessica Stein, also promises something warm, funny and quirky. So how did we arrive at this product placement laden, highly predictable and endlessly dull, dud of a rom-com. And how did they manage to fumble the radiant talent of Anne Hathaway?
The Idea of You, a desperately forgettable title, stars Anne Hathaway as Solene, a 40 year old divorced mom. She's an artist and she runs a successful art gallery. As we meet Solene, she's bundling her teenage daughter, Izzy (Ella Rubin), and her two best friends, off to Coachella with Izzy's uber-rich daddy who has sprung for a big backstage package, one that will allow her to meet her favorite boy band. Well, they used to be her favorite boy band but she doesn't listen to them anymore. The boy band, known as August Moon, is headed up by Hayes Campbell, the Harry Styles of the group, played by Nicholas Galitzine.
Circumstances conspire to have Solene have to take the kids to Coachella where she will end up backstage. In a comic misunderstanding, Solene ends up in Hayes Campbell's trailer, thinking it's the backstage restroom. Hayes is immediately smitten with Solene but she doesn't see it. After a brief exchange about art and her art gallery, they part ways. Later, Hayes shows up at Solene's gallery and buys all of the art as a ruse to spend time with Solene. She goes for this, after initially questioning his dedication to art, and the two end up back at her house sharing a moment over her piano.
Once Solene's daughter is sent off to a summer camp of some sort, Solene takes up Hayes' offer to fly to New York to hook up and for a time, the pair enjoy hooking up. Naturally, we have roadblocks set up in Solene and Hayes' age gap, 16 years I think it is, and in the reaction of Solene's daughter to her mom dating her former favorite boy band guy, but the biggest obstacle is the predictable nature of romantic comedy structure. The typical beats of a rom-com are inescapable at this point, intractable. The only way to work around the genre strictures is to elevate the familiar with great performance and undeniable chemistry.
Find my full length review in the Geeks Community Vocal.
