“The Idea of You” is a fascinatingly fun time, as both a film and an experience. It plays with the genre, tone and seriousness of its subject matter in a way that delightfully defies expectations. All the while, the film maintains its core of lighthearted, romantic, cheesy fun.
The movie centers around a whirlwind romance between Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom and art gallery owner, who goes to Coachella with her daughter. There, she meets — and immediately hits it off with — Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the 23-year-old lead singer of the famous boy band, August Moon. This initial spark leads to a summer of excitement, passion and scandal for Solène and Campbell as they attempt to balance their unique love with the price of fame.
The synopsis is, admittedly, a bit ridiculous. The plot seems silly, stupid even, like a Hallmark movie or something that comes on the TV way too late at night. The pairing of a young, hot popstar and a much older mom sounds like it came directly from someone’s 2000s-era fanfiction. So, with this basic premise in mind, I braced myself for what I was about to witness. As the theater lights dimmed, I couldn’t help but have one question: “Why is Anne Hathaway here?”
Yes, Anne Hathaway. That Anne Hathaway. The Oscar-winning actress who has spent several years making careful and successful artistic choices attempting to revitalize her career after public opinion turned against her in the mid-2010s. That same woman plays the main character in this — what would have been straight-to-DVD if released in the appropriate era — movie. I had faith she’d be good in the role, as she is an objectively strong actress, but I had no idea how the rest of the movie around her would be handled. Would she even have good material to work with?
When the movie ended, I had an answer to these concerns. Hathaway chose to be in “The Idea of You” because it is a truly good film. I am truly glad she did because her involvement will hopefully draw critical audience attention to a film that ought to be enjoyed by the world.
The script – which was my biggest worry going into this – is good, excellent even. Despite some initially stilted expository dialogue and several romantic cliches throughout the movie (which, in a way, further add to its charm), the script sounds entirely natural. Each line bursts with chemistry for the two leads to work with. Specifically, toward the second half, the dialogue really seems to find a rhythm.
Hathaway and Galitzine give excellent performances. While Hathaway, with her signature charm, does run circles around the rest of the cast, her co-star, Galitzine, truly manages to keep up. His delivery is sharp and his timing is commendable. The pair only seem to elevate each other; their chemistry is utterly palpable.
As for the plot … well, it resembles Wattpad fanfiction. August Moon is certainly based on One Direction, and the main character’s meet-cute is completely improbable. At one point, Hathaway’s character literally pulls out a book at a celebrity meet-and-greet, an action meant to establish she’s “not like other girls.” Yet the movie strikes such a perfect balance of sincerity and fun that the campy tone works in tandem with the film’s emotional final act.
The film’s very nature and messages in its plot have left me thinking even days after watching. One of the major issues within the film is that Campbell, a talented artist, is not taken seriously by the public because of his “boy band” status. The movie asks us to look inward and consider Campbell’s plight: Why shouldn’t boybands be taken seriously? Groups like One Direction are huge cultural staples and have arguably left a legacy on modern music.
And to take this point further, why is fanfiction ridiculed? It is simply an outlet for writing, creative expression and community. These are genuine stories that should be told, as seen in this very movie. Why are older women in relationships with younger men so villainized, while men are often encouraged to pursue younger women? Why are rom-coms not considered “serious” movies when some of the most iconic films are part of the genre? A common uniting factor is that these are all broadly seen as female interests or issues that are often discredited, diminished and looked down upon by society. “The Idea of You” takes this issue and examines it from a unique angle in a truly profound way I did not expect.
“The Idea of You” is not a perfect film. It’s not groundbreaking or life-changing and this keeps it from five stars. Yet, it’s not meant to be. The film is perfectly content being in the company of fellow “chick flicks.” “The Idea of You” not only takes rom-coms, boybands and fanfiction in earnest, it extends that unfeigned commitment to, above all else, women. From young fangirls admiring their favorite artists to older women desiring love, the film takes them seriously. For that, I am left with nothing but a genuine appreciation for “The Idea of You.”
