We kind of all forgot. After winning that Oscar she desperately wanted, moviegoers turned on Anne Hathaway pretty fast, and decided they didn’t want anything to do with her as bonafide movie star as soon as she finished her Chris Nolan movies. You can’t keep a talented actor down though, as she’s been making interesting low budget films or killer supporting appearances since 2013, while maybe also raising a bit of a family. In The Idea of You, Hathaway makes us second guess our harsh judgments, giving a great leading performance she has been doing since The Princess Diaries.
Solene (Hathaway) has settled into divorcee life. She got married young to Daniel (Reid Scott), had a kid, Izzy (Ella Rubin), who’s now a well adjusted teenager, and got divorced, settling into a gallery owner job in Silver Lake. When Daniel’s job prevents him from taking Izzy and her friends to Coachella, Solene steps in since she didn’t have a great weekend plan anyways. Among many bands to see, one of nostalgic pleasure for Izzy is August Moon, a heartthrobby boy band headlined by British brooder Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine). When a bathroom confusion leads to Solene ending up in Hayes’s trailer, the two surprisingly hit it off, prompting the 25 year old singer to seek out this 40 year old woman who’s caught his eye…and maybe his heart?
Many romcoms are half-baked, taking a flimsy premise and skating by on the strength of its leads. The Idea of You isn’t that; instead, it goes for the more interesting “think it through” approach. Solene doesn’t just abandon her life to go abroad with Hayes; she makes sure Izzy’s ok and her business is in order before she does it. That first month or so is the hook obvs: a smoking hot 25 year old awakens all those inner emotions and desires Solene’s buried for the sake of her daughter and maybe her own emotional well being. Then all the little obstacles/consequences of life in the public eye come to bear. Cougar hypocrisy threatens Solene’s reputation and forces her to confront all those buried hurts she didn’t want to deal with ever again. And even if she feels she can take it, there’s also other considerations, like Izzy and even Daniel, whom she isn’t even really a fan of. The Idea of You is really talked through by its decisions, making characters like Solene look smarter by romcom comparison, not just in it for the hot guy, but making sure the relationship’s worthy of their time as well as their family’s.
But to be that sophisticated you need a sophisticated actress to carry the movie. Writer/Director Michael Showalter leans on Anne Hathaway to make sure all the big emotional moments hit. The amazing actress was more than ready to do this part, nailing everything the script needs her to do. She’s mom funny during some of the paparazzi reveals or reading a book at Coachella. She’s sexy and flirty during those early moments with Nicholas Galitzine, and most importantly, she finds the perfect notes to reveal the depths of her feelings when things start to get real between the two of them. There’s an amazing scene where the two just finished lunch, and Hayes asks Solene what’s the worst that can happen by opening up to someone? A lesser actress would have gone over the top with the tears and such, but Hathaway plays it like a war veteran, recounting the arc of her relationship with Daniel in two minutes, subtly capturing the highs and very low lows of what falling out of love looks like to a 25 year old boy who’s never experienced this yet. It’s incredible stuff, only a great like Hathaway has the range, talent, and charisma to pull off. For August Moon’s Hayes, Amazon Prime went with their groomed Noah Centineo: Nicholas Galitzine. Having already done buttoned up romcom British hunk, Galitzine does a different spin on that here. He doesn’t get a lot to do, but he’s electric when he and Hathaway share the screen together, making me wish we got a bit more of his story here, and giving me hope for Galitzine’s romcom leading man future.
So, Anne, it’s been too long. Time to step back into the limelight a bit more. I want you back as a leading lady. I’m sorry. Where do I make an official apology on behalf of: Hollywood? America? Is this good enough? Just make more cool big movies, please!