'The Idea of You' gets stuck in the idea stage
Amazon
A zesty rom-com could come from asking if a 40-year-old divorced mom and a 24-year-old boy band heartthrob can get in sync. The laugh-free mom-rom "The Idea of You," however, executes its supposedly taboo conceptual fantasy with all the controversy of a library card and the specificity of "I Want It That Way."
If you like when love stories don't really do much or go anywhere, prepare to be satisfied. Yet if we’re going to do another take on 1999's excellent “Notting Hill” (though “Idea” feels more like the mediocre 2024 effort “A Family Affair”), perhaps it doesn’t have to be the narrowest and simplest possible version of this story.
As Solene (Anne Hathaway) sparks a meet-cute with Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine) in his trailer at Coachella — shh, everyone can hear you groaning — it’s clear that director/co-writer Michael Showalter (“The Big Sick”) and co-writer Jennifer Westfeldt (“Kissing Jessica Stein”) have streamlined Robinne Lee’s book away from anything remotely surprising or even juicy. (Assuming that exists in the novel, which I have not read.) Hayes has no family or exes involved in his life that might complicate things. Or any record execs or publicists with feelings about his personal choices. Or even tension with other group members that would come into play as he starts what appears to be an uncharacteristic relationship for a young man who otherwise has enjoyed the opportunities afforded by his fame. He also has no thoughts about anything beyond wanting to be taken seriously and feeling happy and comfortable with Solene (who runs an art gallery she apparently can leave whenever she feels like it) for reasons he can’t define. They absolutely have chemistry, and both lead performances are plenty good. But these characters don’t really get to know each other, and the plot doesn’t blossom so much as freeze.
Meanwhile, elements arrive as if the story is just coasting its way to the public drama of the final section, which would have been far more interesting about an hour earlier. Setting aside nitpicking details like if a boy band like the One Direction-esque August Moon would really play Coachella or the fact that the 12-year age difference between the actors (41 and 29 at the moment) doesn’t really capture the characters’ supposedly massive 16-year gap, “The Idea of You” greatly struggles to turn its attraction into something more substantial. And a climactic jump ahead in time is as far-fetched as it is oversimplified.
Of course Solene’s ex (Reid Scott) is a cheating jerk while her daughter (Ella Rubin) is the world’s most-adjusted 17-year-old. Solene and Hayes talk about trust issues and bond easily while uncovering no unseen challenges. That’s a plus in the compatibility department but a hole in a movie that can’t think of any conflict beyond unconvincing lies and a convincing but obviously intrusive swarm of offline paparazzi and online gossipers.
Good love stories can come from two nice people meeting and determining if they can intertwine their lives. “The Idea of You” forces its characters into a story that dulls the situation — shoutout to Rhys Ifans’ “Notting Hill” goofball, and the classic Horse and Hound sequence — and feels neither like dream nor reality. Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde might have something stronger to say; it’s hard to imagine anyone else feeling much.
C
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