‘The Idea Of You’ Review- Is WAY Too Long
This film steeamed in 2024.
The Idea Of You is a Prime Video romantic comedy directed by Michael Showalter, based on a screenplay by Jennifer Westfeldt. It made its premiere at the 2024 South by Southwest Conference. There are minor spoilers in this review.
Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway) is forced to take her daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) to Coachella when her ex-husband Daniel (Reid Scott) bails. Using a VIP pass, she accidentally ends up meeting the much younger singer Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), whose band August Moon is performing. They exchange some awkward discussions, but it is clear they like each other. A few days later, Hayes shows up at Solène’s art gallery and purchases her entire inventory. They soon develop a strong connection and develop a romance, but with Hayes being so high profile, things take a few turns.
The film is based on a book by novelist Robinne Lee. I have not read it so I cannot compare it to the source material, but simply review it as a rom-com.
I have no complaints about the actors. Everyone did a good job and turned out acceptable performances. No one had a standout role, but I thought Hathaway and Galitzine had decent chemistry, considering the nature of the movie.
Two issues keep this movie from capturing some of the most interesting aspects of the romantic comedy. The first is the pandering to the feminists. This movie kept going on and on about a May-December relationship double standard when it comes to women. In what universe? Every time Leonardo DiCaprio or Tom Cruise gets a younger girlfriend, the media will not shut up about it. Asia Argento may have committed a crime during her affair with a man young enough to be her son, but the media barely made a blip about it, except to say she lost a job.
The second issue is that it is so freaking long. A rom-com should be between ninety minutes and one hundred minutes. There can be exceptions, but this movie was not one of them. They packed in so much melodrama and focused too much on the media frenzy that it got old. We get it. He is young, she is old, and he is famous. Move on. This caused the film to have not one, but two rom-com-style break-ups, which only made the ending incredibly predictable.
PARENTAL CONCERNS: Sexual content, Foul language
FAVORITE QUOTE: And for the record, you have never seen me buy apples before.
Bottom line, The Idea Of You has decent performances and even a decent story. It just bogged down in its preachiness and its excessive drama.
Check out the trailer below:
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, novel, movie, or anime you would like me to review.