Saccharine sweet rom com as divorced 40 year old finds herself involved in a serious love affair with the lead singer of British boyband August Moon.
With her husband having walked out for a woman almost half his age, Solène (Anne Hathaway) immerses herself in work and teenage daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin). Attending a music festival with Izzy and her friends, a brief, flirtatious encounter with Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) results in Solène being tracked down to her Silver Lake gallery by the singer – as well as the ever attendant paparazzi. As their affair snowballs, Solène’s life is turned upside down by Hayes’ superstar status: the challenges of constant attention and age-shaming may be too much for her and Izzy.
It’s cute and superficially addresses the reversal of older man/younger woman midlife crisis trope. Hathaway equips herself well in the role but a little more overall bite would have provided depth to the narrative’s exploration without necessarily deflecting from the rom com template. But The Idea of You is better than anticipated.
Rating: 53%
Director: Michael Showalter (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, The Big Sick)
Writer: Michael Showalter (Hello, My Name is Doris, TV’s Search Party), Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein, Friends With Kids) – based on the novel by Robinne Lee
Main cast: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables, Rachel Getting Married), Nicholas Galitzine (Red, White & Royal Blue, Bottoms), Ella Rubin (The Rewrite, TV’s The Chair)
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