‘The Idea of You’ is a Joy to Watch

We were long overdue for a feel-good movie so thank goodness it’s finally here. The Idea of You doesn’t fear analyzing societal norms in a crowded room, and yet, still manages to keep itself light and easily digestible.

Directed by Michael Showalter, the film follows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a divorced 40-year-old who enjoys her independence, her daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin), and her comfortably structured life. She’s also committed to her job running an art gallery in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. When Izzy’s plans of attending Coachella are halted because of her dad’s (Daniel, played by Reid Scott) job, Solène sacrifices her birthday plans and steps in. Daniel got Izzy and her friends VIP tickets to see her favorite boy band, August Moon. After tiring of waiting for her daughter and friends, Solène wanders off in hopes of finding a restroom. She mistakenly enters the dressing room of Hayes Campbell (Nicolas Galitzine), lead singer of August Moon. It’s from this moment that the film begins to take flight.

Who better to play a 40-year-old love interest than a 40-year-old Anne Hathaway? The chemistry between Hathaway and Galitzine is fun. The first two quarters of ’24 have been inundated with action, sci-fi, and horror. This was an easy-to-take-in, light-hearted rom-com. Some say it’s not as romantic as the book, others say it’s an ode to Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde. Either way, it’s a film that examines love, loss, and a not-so-noticeable age gap.

Unlike the disturbing age gap in May December (Mary Kay was 36 when she met Joe aged 13), Solène just turned 40 years old while Hayes is 24. While the two totally like each other, Solène initially feels guilty because of her age. Her friend Tracy (Annie Mumolo) reminds her that if the roles were reversed nobody would bat an eye, which is true. The topic was poked at more than once but it never went to the extreme of choosing sides or smoldering the humor.

The love portion didn’t just deal with Solène and Hayes either. Daniel and Solène are divorced and she’s still clearly emotional about it. Her life pretty much revolves around Izzy since she’s all she has left. She details that she felt so strongly about family and making everything work that she was willing to move past Daniel’s infidelity (pretending it never happened). There’s also a degree of self-love that gets put under the microscope. Sometimes people lose their identity because their identity was their child or spouse. It can take a long time to reconfigure your life to see if your past desires match your current ones and how to adjust where needed.

Heartbreak is never fun and it can be hard to talk about. One of the film’s strengths is knowing when to say “when”. When there’s anger in the air, it doesn’t last too long. Hathaway has a handful of moments where she has to check her wardrobe to be certain it’s “age appropriate” but turns those awkward moments into pure comedy.

The Idea of You gets a 9.5 out of 10. There’s lots of love and laughter in this 115-minute flick. There’s a lot of implied sex and innuendo but there isn’t any nudity. It’s a good film with good acting and a good ending. We’re only five months into 2024 and I’ve already had my fill of book adaptations but this was thoroughly enjoyable. It was the perfect film to open the 2024 Atlanta Film Festival.

The Idea of You is available to stream on Prime Video today.

-Jon Jones

Photos: Courtesy of Amazon Studios