Directed By Michael Showalter

Starring – Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin

The Plot – Solène (Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom, begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.

Rated R for some adult language and sexual content

The Idea of You – Official Trailer | Prime Video (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

There’s nothing groundbreaking or original about the execution of “The Idea of You” that recreates the wheel on romantic comedies, but Showalter and company openly embrace the abundance of tropes that typically condemn a weaker film inside of its genre classification, in turn enriching an experience that, like its characters grow to appreciate, feels comfortable in its own skin amidst the commotion of naysayers. A lot of the credit goes to a script co-written and adapted by Showalter, who not only takes his time outlining the vast realities of his dynamic duo in ways that effortlessly depict their differences as something far greater than just age, but also taps into the psychologies of why each feel like a perfect fit for the other, creating a seamless bond between them that stretches far deeper than being another topical attraction. Beyond this, the script also digs deeper in outlining many uniquely appealing conversations about ageism and gender hypocrisies among media manipulation, which help to shed a light of hypocrisy towards an enveloping world that serves as the couple’s ruthless antagonists. It does this without feeling overtly preachy or woke, by contemporary terms, but beyond that conveys that most of the preconceived mental adversity stems from Solene’s perspective, forcing her to confront her own fears about sociological perspective, or lose the person who has given her life the kind of refreshing second wind to attack the opportunity that doesn’t present itself everyday, especially in the surreal aspects of being wooed by one of the world’s biggest pop stars. In that aspect, the film does play like the fan-fiction of a middle aged woman’s deepest fantasy, but never developed by anything that feels too far-fetched or unrealistic to the way it’s capably summoned, instead grounding the building steps to this relationship in ways that feel every bit relatable as they do endearing to the investing audience, who undoubtedly see a lot of the growing pains of their own relationships in characters who couldn’t feel any different. Showalter’s directing merits are also on display, enriching the film’s visual capacities with emotional radiance that feels like an inside look into the blossoming beauty of this lovesick couple. Between intimate photography that glows warmly during scenes of physical tenderness, with ambitiously luscious color schemes, the production is able to immerse us in the depths of this spellbinding seduction, but never in ways that irresponsibly take away focus from the two people in frame, instead luminating their passion as an impactful outline that helps to convey a deeper significance to the things that these two are feeling. Speaking of those two characters in focus, the performances from both Hathaway and Galitzine are alluring in completely different facets, offering ample opportunity for each to shine in the capacity of their respective objectives that feel so natural in the broad strokes that they supplant to each character. For Galitzine, he totally shines as the movie’s charismatic charmer, primarily during initial interactions between he and Solene that articulates a deeper yearning to relationships based entirely on the physical. Meeting him halfway is a virtuous turn from Hathaway, whose radiant beauty and underlining vulnerabilities help to brandish an effortless level of empathy for the character that she uses to steal the heart of the audience. Together, the two do in fact attain a level of chemistry that I truly wasn’t expecting, perhaps as a result of my own preconceived notions about May December relationships on film, and more importantly their interactions never feel spruced up or enhanced by dialogue that could easily cater towards an unnatural cool factor that spells out cinematic captivity, but instead appeases believability and merit in ways that ascends their initial intentions with evolving necessities. Lastly, Showalter’s expressive personalities behind the lens are mirrored in an Indie-driven soundtrack that I wholeheartedly expect to be picked out by Hathaway herself, especially during in-car rock outs involving her singing each song, word for word. St Vincent, The Kinks and even Galitzine himself are just a couple of the artists who beneficially adorn this impulsive collection, and considering music plays such a prominent role in the relationship between Solene and Hayes, failing to explore significance in the playlist of either character would be a grave mistake that the film thankfully stays far away from.

NEGATIVES

Despite a blossoming love that comes to life within the confines of a detailed screenplay, not everything is realistically summoned, especially the adversity that the couple faces inside of not one, but two predictably expected third act distancing’s that temporarily annoyed me. You could almost set your watch by the time in the film that these elements unceremoniously come to life, with abrupt personality shifts given to supporting characters that forcefully drive a wedge between Solene and Hayes, but delivered in such a clumsy and meandering manner that feels obvious in the way it’s materialized, setting the audience off on a journey towards an inferior and dramatic-dependent second half to the film that finally collided with the predictable sentiments of such a telegraphed subgenre. In addition to this, the film is beneficially rated R, but sometimes as a result of lustful interaction between its leads that feels plucked from an entirely different movie than the one established in this sweetly serene romantic comedy. One such scene involves a character getting handy with another, and between prolonged framing painting a character’s panting vulnerabilities, and sound mixing that intentionally enhances the vocal capacities of Solene, it all feels a bit desperate and unnecessary with what’s included, resulting in passionate pay-offs that indulge a bit bolder than a film of this magnitude essentially needed, trading out the sweet with the sultry in ways that make it occasionally feel like a late-night Cinemax movie, and not always in the best of lights. Finally, while Hathaway and Galitzine are primed and ready for whatever Showalter asks of them, the supporting ensemble leaves slightly more to be desired, especially with memorable character actors like Annie Mumolo and Reid Scott practically wasted by these one-dimensional outlines that might as well be phoned in. While I can wholeheartedly understand that this is Hathaway and Galitzine’s movie for the taking, I would’ve liked outsider influence to play a deeper significance to the movie’s integrity, but instead they attain about as much established notoriety as drapes to one of the film’s various lavish settings, with about as many speaking lines as such.

OVERALL
“The Idea of You” is still plagued by some unfortunate circumstances that ultimately remind audiences that this is a by-the-numbers romantic comedy, at the end of the day, but not necessarily one without the kind of charming merits that attain an endearing energy to the investment. Hathaway and Galitzine subscribe to serendipitous levels of synergy that is sure to steal the heart of their audience, and with Showalter’s boldly expressive merits in framing their alluring connection, sweeps audiences off of their feet with a nourishing engagement that, like its characters, ages like the finest wine.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-