THE IDEA OF YOU (AMAZON PRIME) (2024)
SYNOPSIS: Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The age difference between Anna Hathaway and Ella Rubin is nineteen years old though you can hardly tell in The Idea of You.
In this latest rom com based on Robinne Lee's 2017 book of the same name, Hathaway and Rubin plays a pair of mother and daughter. Hathaway’s character, Solène, a divorced woman in her early 40’s finds herself falling in love with the much younger lead singer of a British boyband, Hayes Campbell (played by Nicholas Galitzine), once an idol of her now teenage daughter, Izzy.
Sparks fly but the pair of lovebirds is expectedly torn between their age difference, individual career paths and personal demons to battle. You know this is not a story about a mother and her daughter.
Fans have drawn parallels between Harry Styles and Hayes Campbell. You know the once steamy tabloid romance involving Styles and the older Olivia Wilde. For context purpose, Lee has vehemently denied the similarities. Ultimately, it’s a romcom that speaks of fantasy and escapism, nothing more nothing less.
The idea of a commoner falling in love with an unbelievably famous person has been done countless times before. Notably, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in Notting Hill and J.Lo and Owen Wilson in the recent Marry Me. The Idea of You is a movie that relies heavily on the lady’s perspective. And it greatly benefits from the casting of Hathaway who exudes charm and star power as a woman who finds love in unexpected places after her ex-husband falls in love with a younger partner after years of marriage.
No doubt the entire affair of the two meeting for the first time in the star’s mega trailer and some embarrassing flirting in front of Izzy at a meet-and-greet event is to the point of absurd, the inclusion of the dreamy real-life Brit Nicholas Galitzin definitely makes things a lot believable than it is in reality.
Speaking of reality, the romcom also explored the inconveniences of dating a celebrity such as the cruelty of keyboard warriors insinuating Solène as a cougar and the constant pestering of the media in public that puts pressure on their already fragile relationship. While it makes for some grounded discussion, it’s a familiar trope that forecast their inevitable spilt given their age gap and interests.
The Idea of You doesn’t really defer from the usual formulaic romcoms. There’s no right or wrong. No sad or happy ending either. It’s nice to see Hathaway back in a genre she is known for years ago and her chemistry with Galitzine is undeniable. It’s a nice modern romcom, not one you remember down the road but one that reminds you to live in the moment.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
