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Join UsStar Cast: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, and Reid Scott
Director: Michael Showalter
What’s Good: The chemistry between Hathaway and Galitzine is unique, and their characters’ relationship feels genuine in the film.
What’s Bad: The film feels outdated in its concepts, as the One Direction angle has not been popular for quite a while. An update to the idea would have made the film better.
Loo Break: The film’s length feels quite right, but the movie’s start feels a bit too redundant, and the same happens towards the end.
Watch or Not?: Watch if you are a fan of romantic comedies, but be ready for this to be more drama than comedy.
Language: English
Available On: Amazon Prime Video
Runtime: 115 Minutes.
User Rating:
The romantic comedy genre is coming back, and it was needed. The genre had disappeared in the abyss of streaming services with offerings that left much to be desired regarding star power and production values. And so we arrive at The Idea of You, a new film that checks all the boxes when it comes to creating a movie inside the genre, and while it fails to modernize the formula, it succeeds at being quite charming.
The Idea of You Movie Review: Script Analysis
The Idea of You is based on a novel of the same name written by Robinne Lee, which started as a fan fiction involving one of the most famous members of the One Direction boy band, Harry Styles. The Idea of You has all the trappings of a fan fiction project, at least the most popular fan fiction, which mainly deals with pairings and romantic fantasies, creating a story that often feels ridiculous regarding its plot but real regarding the feelings.
The film is in many ways quite ridiculous, not because of the type of relationship that the movie is trying to portray, mainly when you, an older woman portrayed by Anne Hathaway, one of the most beautiful women in the world, thus being a woman most men would love to be in a relationship with, but because some of the plotting feels too amateurish, with plot points repeating themselves very close to each other and showing the seams of the story for everyone to see.
For example, the meet-cute that is presented in the movie, being the meet-cute a magical moment where two characters destined to love each other meet for the first time, is one of the strangest moments in the film defies all common sense, but the film needs that to happen, so even when it doesn’t make sense, the film continues to move on, hoping you don’t stop and think about what is happening at all. There are many moments like that, and while I love seeing both characters together, its artificiality takes me out of the film.
All fictional films call for a suspension of disbelief, but managing to create and maintain it are two different things. Sadly, I don’t think The Idea of You maintains that layer of suspension of disbelief too well, and as the movie continues, I feel the film should have been released at least a decade ago; maybe then it would have felt more of the times, but as of right now, everything that is being depicted in the movie feels like it is a ghost of a past generation, even when the film tries to tell you this is happening right now.
The Idea of You Movie Review: Star Performance
A good romantic comedy needs movie stars; it is almost a mandate of the genre, and this is what has been lacking in many romantic comedies released in the last five years. Thankfully, The Idea of You managed to get Anne Hathaway in the leading role, and with just that decision, the film is better for it. Hathaway carries the movie by herself; without it, it would fall apart. Hathaway gives her character dignity even when the script tries to make the situation awkward.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Galitzine plays a very understated role, a famous pop star who fears this is the peak of his life. The character is simple; Galitzine manages to provide enough nuance to make him feel real and not just a pixie boy most of the time. Galitzine showed up a couple of months ago in Bottoms, playing a completely different character, so the young actor has a lot of range and is definitely worth keeping an eye on. The rest of the cast is just there; they play their part, but the only characters are played by Hathaway and Galitzine alone.
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The Idea of You Movie Review: Direction, Music
Visually, The Idea of You falls flat, which is a shame, but it is something most American films of its kind choose to do. Again, the movie feels like the director just said action and let the actors do their thing in front of the camera. There is zero visual flourish throughout the film, no style at all, and the visual landscape feels incredibly dull for a movie about passion and love. It is baffling that many filmmakers don’t realize that cinema is a visual medium, and there is so much that can be done with the frame that movies like this one feel like a wasted opportunity.
The film’s score is composed by Siddhartha Khosla and could be more forgettable. There are a couple of songs here and there that end up being played in their entirety, which could be better, not the type of songs that would become smash hits for a boy band, as there is nothing catchy about them. This musical wasteland also breaks immersion as music is so important in the story, yet there aren’t any good musicians in the film.
The Idea of You Movie Review: The Last Word
The Idea of You marks another big release for the romantic comedy genre. However, it still feels like the genre’s resurrection is just that, something dead coming back to life instead of a rebirth of sorts. The genre needs to understand that to remain relevant in the next couple of decades, it will need to revamp itself and prove that movies like this are still worth watching in cinemas instead of just being relegated to inhabit the streaming services until the end of times.
The Idea of You Trailer
The Idea of You released on May 2, 2024.
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For more recommendations, read our The Fall Guy Review here.
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