The Idea of You (2024)

Okay so where do I begin? There are some good things and some bad things about the well reviewed rom-com The Idea of You, so perhaps I should start with the good. Two words: Anne Hathaway. This is a vehicle for her and she drives it like an expert. She brings just the right level of everything to her performance, not overplaying it nor phoning it in. She is luminescent on screen and you can't help but fall for her which is an essential ingredient of any rom-com.  If the audience doesn't fall in love, the rom-com doesn't work. Hathaway holds up her end of the bargain. 

So that takes us into some of the bad. In this case: Nicholas Galitzine. It's not that he gives a bad performance. With what he is given he does what can be done. But his character is a major flaw in the story. There is no reason for her to fall in love with him. Sure he's hot but a film needs more than that. He's a nice guy (with one caveat which I'll get to later) and all but as the younger man there has to be some reason he isn't just eye candy and the film doesn't give us any reason to understand why she falls for him. Sure we get why she fucks him. But that's not what makes a successful rom-com. That's what makes successful erotica. The two are not the same. I'll say it again, if the audience doesn't fall in love, the rom-com doesn't work. 

Also I'm just really tired of stories about May-December relationships and how impossible they are. There is a scene here where Hathaway's character gets insecure about seeing younger models out by the pool. She look at herself in the mirror and we see freakin' Anne Hathaway looking amazing. I'm sorry but anyone who is attracted to women would pass over the vanilla models outside for Hathaway any day. The movie never makes its case very well. Near the end the focus switches on the fame issue being what makes their love impossible. But then does a reversal at the end. It's like it can't decide on what its central conflict is. 

I'll return to what I mentioned about Galitzine's character being a nice guy. The film, like 99% of rom-coms before it, falls into that trap of showing interest by having a character pursue another, not backing off, even when told no. We really need to get past romanticizing this. This film isn't the most egregious offender but overall it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Hathaway makes it clear that she doesn't want him to pursue her and he keeps doing it. That's not what "nice guys" do and we should all know better. 

So I fall in the minority on this one and don't think this is next great rom-com. It's a fairly standard rom-com that never really made me fall in love. 

The Idea of You

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Reid Scott

Director: Michael Showalter

Writers: Jennifer Westfeldt, Michael Showalter