Movie Review: The Idea of You

We've been seeing more of Anne Hathaway and I'm loving every bit of it.

This time, she's paired up with Nicholas Galitzine in a cute and tender rom-com.

Quick Recap

Divorced mum, Solene, falls for a member of a boy band in a younger age bracket and soon their chemistry leads to an intense and insane rollercoaster of media frenzy and emotional turmoil that test their limits for compromise.

The Age Issue

There are a myriad of relationship issues but I doubt if any is as controversial as the age gap between partners. Somehow, it just riles people up when the age gap is more than three years. In this case, Solene was 16 years older than Hayes. In fact, she had a 16 year-old daughter who was 6 years younger than Hayes.

With a gap like that, you already know how crazy it'll be, but we'll get back to that later.

Hayes (Nicholas)

I have only ever seen a few of his movies, my very first being Purple Hearts and just like in this movie, I loved him in Purple Hearts. I like how he brought a sense of boyish but focused charm to this movie. His acting was cute. It balanced the line of I’m-a-member-of-a-boy-band-but-I-also-have-heart. Not to say boy bands don’t have heart, but you get. He didn’t act entirely 24 which made it easier to cheer for them. I mean 24 is pretty much a serious adult, right? Anyhoo. I like how he brought that emotional part to play here. The scene where he had tears in his eyes as he bade farewell made me a little sad.

Anne (Solene)

Anne can act. We don’t need anyone analysing her skills, but the chemistry she brought to this was exciting. You could easily feel her anticipation, excitement, doubt, agitation all at once as she processed the idea of being with this very younger Hayes. Their onscreen chemistry was surprisingly good.

I say “surprisingly” because some chemistry just annoys you or is lacking. For me, there wasn't any lacking. When they kissed, I felt it deep in my heart. I cheered because they earnestly looked like they wanted to be with each other.

Her Daughter (Izzy)

During the movie we find her daughter cheering her on. She even cheers her friends on, encouraging them to delete negative comments. But as the movie progresses, things become too serious for her.

Here was my issue: I'll never understand why she couldn't just stand up to the physical comments people made at her. She looked tough and had a strong circle, why did she allow herself to get worked up by them considering she already signed up to support her mum?

I feel it's unfair to make one's parents sacrifice continuously even when there's no need at all.

Of course I get that she may not have understood the magnitude to which the media would drag out the issue. The name calling and insults wasn't all she had thought it would be, but then, the media always has something to say. Of course she never expressly told her mum to call it quits with Hayes, but what did she expect. Her mum loves her and will always put her first even to the detriment of her own happiness.

Don't even get me started on the cheating ex who thought he all of sudden had a say in what was right for his daughter and what wasn't. The audacity to even invite Solene for lunch with the same lady he cheated on her with had me fuming.

Seriously!

The Plot

I like anything romance even when it’s super cheesy and maybe predictable (Hallmark). I love them because they’re my feel good movies—after Horror movies of course.

I had thought this would be predictable. That I would be able to tell how it would end but I didn't. I mean, I had wanted them to work but didn't see two breakups coming or the fact he would promise to try again in the future.

It made me happy to not be able to see this as did the entire movie. I smiled a lot: from the moment she knocked on his trailer to the final scene where they're just smiling at each other.

It wasn't overly long or super complicated but it was enough for us to stay glued and root for them.

The funniest scene for me was the guy who said, “I would like you to accompany me to a restaurant for a meal of food.”

I've heard very bad lines from guys trying to woo but that was the funniest. What the hell is a meal of food? What else would they do in a restaurant? Meal of drink?😂🤣🤣

My Thoughts

As I watched the movie, I asked myself “What would you do?”

Sincerely, I wouldn't try it in the first place. Not because of any media outcry but because that's me. I would worry about him being immature or wanting kids later in the future and so on. So no. That age gap is way too much for me to handle.

So, I ask you.
As a woman or man would you intentionally build a relationship with someone who's 16 years younger than you are? I said relationship, not random affair. Let me know your thoughts on this.

For the movie, it was absolutely worth my time and has a good rewatch value in my books. I say this because I already know what I’ll use to keep my heart happy next weekend.

So watch it if you haven't.

P.S. It may just be me, but I couldn't help but think about Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde while watching this.