“The Idea of You” wants to be a romance about a single mom falling for a boy-band star, but it can’t quite decide whether to play it for laughs or tears. The result is a film that lands somewhere between a comedy and a drama, and mostly succeeds at neither.
Anne Hathaway plays Solène, a divorced art gallery owner in Los Angeles who gets swept up in a whirlwind romance with Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, a boy band that’s the hottest act on the planet. Nicholas Galitzine plays Hayes, and the two leads sell the age gap and the chemistry with genuine warmth. But the script, written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Michael Showalter, keeps circling the same question without ever finding a satisfying answer: can a relationship survive when one partner is constantly in the spotlight?
Trailer, via Amazon Prime Video UK & IE.
Boy Band Trouble
The film’s central conflict is simple: Hayes is famous, and fame makes everything public. Solène tries to keep their relationship hidden from her daughter Izzy and her friends, but the pressure mounts with each stop on August Moon’s European tour. The movie spends a lot of time on this tension, but it never fully commits to exploring what it means to love someone whose every move is documented online. Instead, it leans on broad comedy about paparazzi and tabloid rumors, which dilutes the emotional stakes.
Galitzine is the standout. His Hayes is charming, earnest, and genuinely torn between his career and the woman he cares about. Hathaway matches him note for note, playing Solène as both anxious and self-assured. The supporting cast, led by Ella Rubin as Izzy, Annie Mumolo as Tracy, and Reid Scott as Daniel, fills out the world around them without ever becoming distracting.
What Works, What Doesn’t
The film’s biggest flaw is its pacing. At 116 minutes, it feels stretched thin across a story that could have been told in less than two hours. The middle section, where Solène and Hayes travel together, repeats similar beats of tension and release, and the climax arrives after the audience has already guessed how it will resolve.
There are also some awkward tonal shifts. One scene will be tender and quiet, and the next will be a broad physical gag involving a bathroom door or a hotel room. The film never settles into a consistent mode, which makes it hard to sit with any particular feeling for long.
The music helps, though. Savan Kotecha wrote and composed the original songs, and they land with a pop polish that fits the story without overwhelming it. Siddhartha Khosla’s score adds a melancholic edge to the drama, and Peter Teschner’s editing keeps the film moving even when the writing stalls.
Ranking the Elements
Here’s how the film’s key elements stack up:
- The performances — Hathaway and Galitzine deliver the strongest work of their careers.
- The premise — a single mom and a boy-band star is a fresh setup that could have carried a stronger script.
- The music — Kotecha’s songs and Khosla’s score add texture without stealing focus.
- The pacing — the middle section drags, and the ending feels rushed.
The film’s weakest point is its inability to commit to a tone. Comedy and drama fight for space throughout, and neither wins convincingly.
The Verdict
“The Idea of You” is a competent, occasionally charming romance that never quite reaches the heights it aims for. The performances are strong, the premise is fresh, and the music is good. But the script’s indecision between comedy and drama, combined with a stretched-out runtime, keeps the film from landing its punch.
It’s a film best enjoyed for its cast and its premise, not its execution. For fans of Hathaway and Galitzine, there’s plenty to enjoy. For everyone else, it’s a middling entry in a crowded genre.
Key Facts
– Directed by Michael Showalter
– Written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Michael Showalter
– Runtime: 116 minutes
– Cast: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 16, 2024, and was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 2, 2024.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
