Film review: In ‘The Idea of ​​You,’ a boy band takes center stage, but Anne Hathaway steals the show

In the charming romantic comedy “The Idea of ​​You,” Anne Hathaway plays a 40-year-old divorcee and art gallery owner in Silver Lake who, after taking her teenage daughter to Coachella, becomes romantically involved with a 24-year-old. years. boy band heartthrob August Moon. They meet after she mistakes his trailer for the bathroom.

There are a few hundred things about this premise that might be absurd, including the chances of finding love anywhere near the bathrooms at a music festival. But one of them is not that a young star like Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) would fall in love with a single mother like Solène (Hathaway).

Solène is stylish, unimpressed by Hayes’ celebrity, and has bangs so perfect they look genetically modified. And, most importantly, she is Anne Hathaway. In the power dynamic of “The Idea of ​​You,” Hayes may be a fictional pop star, but Hathaway is a very real movie star. And you don’t forget that for a moment in Michael Showalter’s mildly attractive showcase of the actor at his resplendent best.

“The Idea of ​​You,” which premieres Thursday on Prime Video, is full of all the kinds of contradictions that could make a romantic comedy work. The highly glamorous and smiling Hathaway is playing a realistic nobody. The showbiz veteran in the film is played by Galitzine, a lesser-known but promising British actor whose performance in the film is quite authentic. And even though the whole scenario is undeniably a high-concept Hollywood fairy tale, Showalter gives it enough texture that “The Idea of ​​You” feels more natural and sincere than you might expect.

The only thing that really needs to make sense in a movie like “The Idea of ​​You” is the chemistry. The film, written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt from Robinne Lee’s best-selling novel, moves smoothly through the early scenes between Solène and Hayes – first at Coachella, then as he passes by her gallery – allowing their relationship to develop convincingly. and giving each actor plenty of time to burn.

After the hot hotel room encounters appear in “The Idea of ​​You,” the film, if not sweeping him off his feet, at least took him on a European sex-and-room-service trip. At the same time, it remains true to its core mission of celebrating midlife femininity. The relationship will end up causing a storm on social media, but her main pressure point is whether Solène will be able to stay with Hayes after her ex-husband (Reid Scott) cheated on her. This is a fairy tale she deserves.

Although Showalter (“The Big Sick”) has long shown a great gift for juggling comedy and drama at the same time, “The Idea of ​​You” leans more fully into wish-fulfillment romance. This may leave less to support the film, which notably neutralized some of the things that distinguished the book.

The May-December romance has slowed down a bit. In the book, the singer is 20 years old. Given that Galitzine is 29 and Hathaway, 41, has no idea of ​​age, this is more like a July-September relationship. In the book, the daughter (Ella Rubin) is a great admirer of the pop singer, which adds to the awkwardness, but in the film, August Moon is “so 7th grade” to her.

There are certainly more interesting and funnier places “The Idea of ​​You” could have gone. But Hathaway and Galitzine are a good enough combination that, for a few hours, it’s easy to forget.

But what’s most compelling about “The Idea of ​​You”? August moon. The film nails the look and sound of boy bands so well because it went straight to the source. The film’s original songs are by Savan Kotecha and Carl Falk, producers and composers of, among other pop hits, “What Makes You Beautiful”, One Direction’s debut single.

This connection will likely only add to the feeling that “The Idea of ​​You” is too close to “The Idea of ​​Harry Styles.” The filmmakers distanced the film from any resemblance to real life, but one thing is certain: with August Moon following 4(asterisk)Town of “Turning Red” (whose songs were written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell), we. are living in the golden age of the fictional boy band.

“The Idea of ​​You,” an Amazon MGM Studios release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for some linguistic and sexual content. Running time: 115 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.